


Contact with the Enemy

by The_Letter_X



Category: Monster Girl Encyclopedia, Original Work
Genre: Awkward Sexual Situations, Childhood Friends, Domestic Fluff, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, Explicit Sexual Content, F/F, F/M, Family Bonding, Femdom, Fetish, Gender or Sex Swap, Harems, Idiots in Love, Interspecies Romance, Mad Science, Maids, Master/Servant, Monster Girl(s), Moresomes, Ritual Magic, Ritual Sex, Romance, Sex Magic, Sharing a Body, Transformation, Weirdness
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-27
Updated: 2019-12-27
Packaged: 2020-03-13 13:54:21
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 11
Words: 107,953
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18942337
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/The_Letter_X/pseuds/The_Letter_X
Summary: Right after the death of his best friend, Lyle couldn't pretend he was happy with the way his life was going. Protecting a town that didn't care. Trying to persist in the Order's way of life. But his ordinary easy-going days took a turn for the strange when, while out grieving and away from the safety of town, a familiar-looking Lich came walking his way. It was Sally. His former best friend and now, the first in a series of monster girl wives full of quirky chaos, and ravenous hunger.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is a dump of a completed story on the website Questionable Questing, where it is posted under the same username. This story is best read there, where fonts and formatting are used to enhance the storytelling somewhat. I did my best to transfer the effect with the tools available here, but if you don't mind getting an account to read this story, it's just a xenforo forum. It's easy, and the experience really is that much better. 
> 
> This story relies somewhat on general knowledge of MGE, I won't be rehashing, since I'm here to practice writing porn, not rewording extant world-building. No characters from MGE will be appearing.

The standoff between my dead best friend and my loyal robo-maid was something that had been brewing for a while, I was beginning to think. Beepatrice, my constant companion, an Automaton, and my loyal Deputy, had her guns trained on the newly risen Lich, but Sally looked unimpressed. Flowers swayed in the breeze, swirling through the open field, the nearest trees, the nearest  _cover_ , too far to reach. Returning to town was even further out of the question.  
  
“Oh please,” she said, and though she was far away, I could still hear her fine, and see her roll her eyes at Beeps’ weaponry, “What exactly do you think that those will accomplish?”  
  
“Safety,” Beepatrice replied, standing firmly between me and my oldest friend.  
  
“Why… Why did you do this to yourself?” I asked, more than a little confused and afraid. Liches were powerful monsters, even freshly risen, so far as I knew. And Sally had been dead… or missing, I guess, for a while, who knew what heights she’d reached already? That she had yet to rush me or cast a spell was a good sign, though. Probably. It could be her long-held obvious feelings for me were holding her back from an outright attack. It could be she just wanted me to be afraid when she took me by force. Hard to say.  
  
“Because, you ludicrous fool, I could not catch your attention as I was with that  _thing_ by your side. In every arena, she effortlessly surpassed me. When I first tried to bake you brownies, my initial attempts were only passable, and I toiled for weeks before I presented you the best of the batches.” I remembered that, though not the weeks of failed attempts. She presented them to me as though she’d made them on a whim. If she’d really put that much effort into them, then… “And not one day later, your tin toy had superior pastries on your table. She even made certain that I ate some, to literally taste the depths of my failures.”  
  
That wasn’t true, it was my idea to offer some of those brownies to her, to repay her kindness from the previous day. Does she really think Beepatrice somehow orchestrated that? She hardly speaks! It was my idea. ...Right?  
  
“And it didn’t stop there,” she continued, her usual flat tone rising in volume, even if it didn’t change too much, “I made you warm socks, she knitted a flawless sweater. I brought you interesting and beautiful flowers, she planted you a garden. I worked all year in secret for the talent show, to sing you that love song,” Crap, that song was meant for me? I knew she had feelings, but wasn’t it a little racy? “And she swept the contest with her one woman band act! Where she even got those instruments I shall never know!”  
  
“Um, actually, she worked with Caleb, you know, the blacksmith? She forged them herself. So…” I trailed off, as my friend of nineteen years began to actually growl, her eyes glowing. At twenty-six, I’d known her for a long time, but the glowing eyes were new, for sure. Maybe I shouldn’t have clarified?  
  
“Of course she did! Why wouldn’t she have?” she laughed, a little unsteadily. She sounded, well, almost as frightening as she looked, “If you had told me she had beseeched the Chief God and the vile things descended to her from the heavens I wouldn’t have been surprised!”  _Definitely_  shouldn’t have clarified.  
  
...Laying it all out like that, though, it did seem a little much to assume Beepatrice was entirely innocent in the matter. I looked out across the open field at my friend, God, please let her still be my friend, and asked my next question.  
  
“Okay, I guess I can see that,” Beepatrice looked back at me for a moment, in that instant Sally crossed fifteen feet, and Beepatrice snapped her head back toward Sally, firing a warning shot, “But why is this the solution?”  
  
“It’s not, it’s merely step one,” Sally replied, dodging the halfhearted mana bullet, and still sounding slightly agitated somehow, with her flat tone, but not needing to shout at this distance, “I accept that I will never be rid of this… Nuisance. We will simply have to share you.”  
  
“Don’t I get a say in this?” I asked quickly, as I noticed Beepatrice’s gun arm waver a fraction. Sally grinned widely, too widely. Her teeth were sharpened. I wasn’t the only one who had seen it, then.  
  
“It looks like you may have just been outvoted, my dear. But yes, there will be choices ahead of you, I assure you that you will not be my puppet.” That did sound… somewhat promising, but I couldn’t bring myself to relax even a fraction. Sally was always… aggressive. I’d honestly expected she would show up at my door one day in her wedding dress, tapping her foot impatiently as she held out a suit she’d hand-sewn for me in secret. I hadn’t expected her to die. I definitely hadn’t expected  _this._  “Your first option is the one I honestly prefer, though I suspect you will disagree.”  
  
“Speak.” Beepatrice said, and my eyes widened in alarm.  
  
“Beeps… Are you… really turning on me?” I asked, suddenly aware that the protection from Mamono I’d enjoyed since before I could remember might be slipping through my fingers. I had no idea how to function without her. I’d end up pinned under some random monster in days, if not hours. I was so completely reliant on her, to call her my right hand was truthfully an understatement.  
  
She turned to look at me again, lowering her gun arm completely. My heart sank. She walked up to me, and grabbed my hand, lifting it to her nose. That made me smile, a little.  
  
“Beep,” we said, at the same time, as my finger touched her artificial flesh. That was how she’d gotten her name, from that simple game I’d played with her since I was a child, based off the noise she’d made when she’d imprinted on me all those years ago. It had long since come to mean something else to the both of us, though I suspected the depth of that meaning had been lost on me until today.  
  
Sally continued, “The first option is that I slay you, and raise you again as a Skeleton.” Beepatrice move as fast as I’d ever seen her, this time leveling both of her guns at the Lich, at my friend. “Now, now, hear me out, Beepatrice.” The woman I thought of as very nearly a part of myself did not relax, but neither did she open fire.  
  
“A Skeleton?!” I asked, and without even a  _hint_ of panic. I was very brave. “But.. but… don’t they all come back as... girls?” The places my mind goes to. She just threatened me with murder, albeit a temporary one, and that’s how I chose to respond?  
  
“An apt assessment, Lyle. My desire for your ejaculate is immense, true, but it is ultimately secondary to my need to have you at my side forever.” Uh… what. What!? “Put simply, though I am now Mamono by choice, semen is frankly replaceable. Interchangeable. With the powers I have gained, I can effortlessly make any man into my research subject, it makes little difference to me whom it is. Though, if this is the route you choose, you will of course impregnate me first. I  _will_  have your children, Lyle.” Steam shot out of the seams of Beepatrice’s body, but she showed no other reaction. “And naturally, Beepatrice, you too will get your fill, though I do not believe reproduction functions that way for Automata.” The steam increased tenfold, and good grief, how did I not notice this? I think I might really be as much a fool as Sally had said. Beeps’ feelings were something I’d… somehow never considered. She seemed so… sexless, so emotionless. I knew there was real depth there, I’d seen hints of it over the years… but damn.  
  
Sally continued at a mutter, almost to herself, “In fact, if done in a timely fashion, after his death, it might be trivial to remove and reanimate the useful pieces of his sexual organs  _separately_ … It would lack spirit energy, true, but there’s something to be said for avoiding waste.” Holy shit.  
  
“ **Please**  do not cut off my dick and make it into your zombie sex toy.” My voice cracked, as I said the words anyone in my situation would have. She shook herself out of her tangent, and she smirked at me.  
  
“It’s not as though you’ve put it to any use, despite our combined efforts, and as a Skeleton, it would be further wasted. They are, as you astutely observed, uniformly female. Keeping it for later would allow the three of us as many of your children as we desired, even if it lacked the energy required to sustain us.” What the hell happened to the girl I knew in such a short time? Was she seriously implying she was intending to impregnate me with my own dick? That was just… beyond the pale.  
  
“While I have been away,” she continued on, heedless of, or perhaps enjoying, my obvious turmoil, disgust, and disbelief, “I have proved it is possible to bind a dying soul of a man to his flesh, just before it passes on, and after it has released most of its mana, to raise his bones as a Skeleton, and though painstaking work, combine the two together to create a formerly male Zombie. Indistinguishable from a regular Zombie in every way.”  
  
“What the  _fuck_.” She actually giggled at me.  
  
“This is not even the shallow end, my dear. You, in your limited understanding, are merely dipping your toes into the oceans of possibility my research can help us achieve! True, even at their best, Zombies are not much more self-aware than a Skeleton at its worst, but while you are in that state, as a Lich, I can guide you! In a few years, perhaps even less, I will have raised you into a Wight, and we can rule over legions together!” She turned to Beepatrice, “And you my dear, will be integral to this ploy. I have no head for matters of state, and neither does our dear Lyle, but with you there to cover his faults, to serve as his chancellor, his scribe, his head maid, I am confident we can reach eternity together, even if our dear Lyle must become female, and indeed, as all Skeletons do, believe he has  _always been_  female, to achieve that goal. In such a situation, he, or rather, she, would  _always_  need you. For. Ever.” Beepatrice let her arms drop.  
  
“You said there were other options!” I yelped, backing away slightly from even Beepatrice, normally my safe haven.  
  
The flowers in the field swayed more violently in the wind as Sally walked towards me, now falling into step side by side with my sweet little Beeps.  
  
“Indeed, one option more. Your second option is to take a Bicorn as your first wife, build yourself a small harem, and to live out your human lifespan as a male, enjoying yourself until your inevitable demise, at which point…” she trailed off, gesturing to me to finish the thought.  
  
“…At which point we move to option one, just on a delay?”  
  
“Just so. Though, as you will almost certainly become an Incubus through the process, you should note that you would be adding to your life-span significantly with this choice. Decades. But not indefinitely. Whether by accident, by battle, or by my own impatience, you will fall eventually, and I will not brook you eternal departure from my life.”  
  
“Not to put any ideas in your head, but couldn’t you just… choose me as your research assistant? Why go to all this trouble?” I was still backing away, but it was a formality. Even if by divine intervention I could somehow outrun them, there was nowhere to run  _to._ We were miles from town. I was meant to be grieving. Stalling was my only play.  
  
“Because I still remember what it means to value you as a person, Lyle. My research assistant, when I get that position,” she licked her lips, “Mmm... filled, will be tending to my body endlessly, or else be under my knife receiving gifts, improvements and experiments. I will allow no argument on the matter” She gestured at me, “But... I fell in love with you for your mind, your  _personality_ , such as it is, anyway.” Hey now. Rude. “Something that would go to waste as my insatiable urge for semen and the pleasures I’d inflict upon you slowly ground away at all your interests until there was nothing left to you but an inoffensive, obedient, and convenient food source that I liked to cuddle with occasionally. A hamburger in a suit.” Wait, does that mean you occasionally cuddle with hamburgers? No, no, Lyle, focus.  
  
“Contrarily, as an undead Mamono yourself, you too would be focused on intercourse with your own… husband, though I likely could be convinced to share mine with you... and you and I would certainly lay with each other on multiple, even frequent, occasions, but our ability to interact as we have always done would not be nearly so hampered by our lusts. We would hunger for each other’s company, not merely each other’s bodies. Put another way, Lyle, I will kill you simply because I do not wish to lose you.”  
  
That might actually be the sweetest sentiment anyone has ever expressed to me, even if the delivery packaging it’s in is horrifying. ‘She loves me for my mind, not my body’, that’s the kind of thing we all want to believe of our partners, but in a world like this, does something like that even happen? Sally…  _has_ always preferred women… was she  _ever_  physically attracted to me? Or was she just putting up with my body…? Does she see this as her opportunity for a perfect, if horrifying, romance?  
  
“If you stubbornly insist on delaying your undeath, a harem including your Automaton and myself is your best chance at retaining your mind and self as you live through this life, Lyle. With her mindless devotion to you, her wishes would change you not at all, and with enough enforced breaks in our lovemaking, I would not lose track of myself and my goals and, as we Mamono are prone to say, defang you. We would simply need to choose the other participants with care. A Bicorn will naturally drag us all into depravity, though you could stand to be a bit more relaxed in that regard. We must only select the others to counteract this, somewhat. Or at least to avoid exacerbating it.” She pulled out a list, and sat on the ground, patting the place beside her as she always did, beckoning me to read what she’d prepared.  
  
Without other options, I sat. I needed to play it cool for now, play along, keep her calm. Beeps sat down on my other side, and with a careful motion, laid her hand on my knee. She immediately began venting steam again, and removed her hand. I smiled despite myself. It was a little cute.  
  
“First,” Sally began, “a Holstaurus. Even tempered, gentle, and devoted, they aren’t even too needy in regards to intercourse, and the milk they produce is a bonus that should not be overlooked. I am given to understand men are attracted to their large mammaries. What say you, Beepatrice?”  
  
“Tits.” Her expression did not change an inch as she uttered the first lewd word I’d ever heard from her. I choked on my own spit.  
  
“Just so.” Sally said, checking the box next to the species name. “No insects, I refuse to consider it. Most of the reptile species are too possessive, or corruptive with their venoms… and... I will not have you subsumed into the Sabbath on my watch. I have no interest in them, myself, and once joined, they are notoriously difficult to  _leave._  Worse, their members are near uniformly persistent evangelists. That is not something I wish to deal with throughout eternity.” I blinked again. She's so calmly classifying and dismissing entire categories of monsters in her pursuit of perfect,  _eternal_  brides... and she informs me so casually. Is the girl I knew truly gone?  
  
Well… no, not gone, exactly. She’s more verbose, more morose, but not by much in either case. Much more direct, and open about her desires, and the desire to raise me to undeath is probably, hopefully, completely new, but… It’s pretty obviously still Sally. Her personality has always been… uh, distinct. If it weren’t true, or if it were less certain, this would be much less frightening. I could have had Beeps tear her apart with clear conscience at the first opportunity. Beeps and I would have to have had a long talk, but we could have gotten through it.  
  
But it  _was_ her, I couldn’t hide from that. That I had to either take this nonsense seriously or be party to the killing of my best friend, watch her die  _again,_  it was that which made this so excruciating.  
  
“How do you feel about slimes?”  
  
“Huh? What?”  
  
“Lyle, honestly, we are discussing your future, here. Take this seriously.”  
  
“Right, sorry. You’re just… so different. But, also the same? It’s throwing me off, Sally.”  
  
She smiled bright and wide, and with almost none of the menace on her face all the previous times.  
  
“You called me ‘Sally’.” She said, sounding touched, and there was even a tear in her eye. Dead people cried? ...Is being surprised by that rude? “I was so worried you would turn on me, think me naught but a monster, and report me to the Order. Thank you for believing in me, Lyle. …Though I admit I am considering changing my name.”  
  
“Oh?”  
  
“Sally Franks is not really the name for a terrifying master of undeath, is it?” She elbowed me lightly, as she sometimes would when she was feeling playful. Her posture had straightened, filled with self-confidence, as she declared herself ‘terrifying’.  
  
“You could make it scary,” I said, half serious, “I have faith in you.”  
  
“Thank you, my love, but Queen Sally of Necropolis shall not be my legacy, I think. I was considering... ‘Faust von Frankenstein’. What say you?” I very carefully did not laugh at her hilariously edgy self-chosen name. Not that I had much room to talk. I had named Beeps, after all.  
  
“It’s your name, you know? If that’s what you want, then I’ll make the effort.” I also carefully avoided mentioning that she’d called me ‘her love’. We needed to avoid escalating until I’d escaped, or we’d gotten things settled, otherwise she’d just wind up killing me ‘for my own protection’, and by the time I came back to myself, years would have passed, and I’d believe that I’d actually always been a woman and that semen was really honestly very tasty. I suppressed a shudder. “So. Slimes? Why slimes?”  
  
Her eyes lit up. “The question, perhaps, should be ‘why not slimes?’ In general, they are ludicrously useful and notoriously simple and unopinionated. So long as you keep her fed, the drift on your personality, and thus on all our personalities, should be minimal. Personally, I recommend a Shoggoth. The devotion a Shoggoth feels for her master rivals that of an Automaton, though fundamentally she desires to be used, more than to be useful, a subtle distinction that should allow them both to coexist happily, after boundaries are set. Beepatrice wants to bring you your food as you sit at the table, the Shoggoth wants to  _be_  your table. And your clothes, and your bed, and so on. Dreadfully useful creatures, even amongst slimes, the things I could do with one… I mean, the things  _you_  could do with one…”  
  
“You’ve really thought this through.”  
  
“Indeed. Even death cannot keep you from my grasp, my darling, but your happiness is paramount. The Shoggoth would likely follow you after your ascension to undeath, as well. They feed off of dirt and grime as much as human semen. You can simply pump a few extra loads into your clothing as you’re getting your fill, once that happy day comes.” Um. Gross. Every time I think I’ve got a handle on this, you bring up the semen.  
  
“Can we not talk about me getting stuffed by some random dude in the far off future, please, Sally? Um, I mean, Faust?”  
  
“Whatever you desire.” She shook her head as though I were just some silly kid saying foolish things. We’re the same age! And I don’t like men! “So a yes, regarding the Shoggoth?”  
  
“Sure, if we can find one, I guess.”  
  
“When the time comes, your earnest desire for her service should be all that is required on that front.”  
Beepatrice leaned in, her gaze as empty as ever. Once she was sure I was looking into her eyes, she said loudly and firmly, “Seniority.”  
  
I was a little bit nervous, not going to lie. I’d never had her staring me down like this before. “Right you are, Beeps. You’re still my Deputy, no matter what.” She nodded, apparently satisfied I still knew who was in charge around here. But wasn’t that supposed to be me?  
  
“That leaves one, by the standard of what the average Bicorn can support. We can safely disregard plants, I think, and aquatic types. Neither are worth the bother that focusing our lives around their ecosystems would require. Their useful byproducts can be bought or traded for, if necessary. That leaves birds and Succubi.”  
  
I gulped, I had a feeling I knew where this was going.  
  
“And yet, bird type monsters are mainly prized for their flight, which any succubus worth talking about can do and more besides. And, as a bonus, a Succubus will be invaluable to my research.” Woman, between this, the thing with the slime, and your opinions on Holstaurus milk, I have to wonder, is this meant to be my harem or is it secretly yours?  
  
...Oh heavens, that’s what this is, isn’t it? I’m the bait for building her her own fantasy harem. And once it’s done and everyone is settled in, she’s going to kill me, replace me with some random dick, reanimate me, and have me join her in her ‘Paradise’. Oh my Chief God Sally, I know you prefer women, but… fuck, just get a hobby or something, and a secret mistress, like a normal girl. I’d have understood.  
  
“Okay,” I said, with iron in my voice, “but  _I_ get to pick the Succubus.”  
  
“Hmm?” She said, pretending to be politely confused.  
  
“We’ll host interviews, and I’ll pick.” To keep you from getting some domineering weirdo. I’m the one who’ll have to deal with her.  
  
Her eyes narrowed, but she acquiesced. “Very well. I will leave it to you. Beepatrice?”  
  
“Cock.”  
  
.  
.  
.  
  
“Excuse me?” Faust and I said as one, both outraged, but for different reasons.  
  
Beepatrice got right up into Faust’s face, and repeated herself. Louder. “Cock.”  
  
She paused for a moment, “Now.” She added, in case we were confused.  
  
“Wait why are you asking her?!” “You think you can take his virginity from me, you aluminum whore?!”  
  
“Take it from you?’ I yelped, standing up, “It’s mine! That’s why it’s called  _my_  virginity!”  
  
They both turned and glared at me. Well, Faust glared, Beepatrice just looked at me, expressionless as always, but I got it from context. I sat back down, grumbling. “You just wait until neither of you can break me in half with an errant sneeze,” I muttered, “then we’ll see who’s in charge around here.”  
Beepatrice patted me on the head without looking away from Faust, whom she was now staring at intensely. I tried not to feel good about it, about her touch, her open affection, but I failed. Probably due to all the demonic energy pouring out of Faust. Yes, that’s it. She’s a high rank undead. I would ordinarily never act so shamefully. For certain.  
  
Whether by unspoken agreement, some unseen threat, or just her memories of Beepatrice pasting Mamono who didn’t get the message that she wasn’t to be fucked with, Faust backed down, and she, too, began grumbling. “Uppity vibrator thinks she’s tougher than me? I’ll show her, yes, just a few more months, a bit more study and I’ll be ready. Oh yes. So very very ready.”  
  
Of course, if she really thought she could take Beepatrice in such a short timeframe, why bother with this at all? She could have just swooped in, took her out, and had her way with me, no negotiating required. Huh. To deter such a high-level monster, forcing her to retreat into such an elaborate scheme, didn’t that mean Beepatrice was kind of a badass? I mean, I sort of knew that already, but Lichs were not low-teir monsters. Not by a long shot.  
  
Faust stalked away, fists clenched. As she left, she shouted back our way, “You two remain here, I shall go collect and violate our Unicorn! Create that Bicorn that we require! You know,” she pointed at Beepatrice, “something actually helpful and cooperative!”  
  
Beepatrice merely shrugged, and turned back to me. As Faust moved further and further out of sight, my breathing became more and more heavy. We needed to move, now, if we were going to slip Faust’s grip… but I knew what was coming next, what it was that Beeps wanted most… And… this clearing smelled so  _nice_... Perhaps... there was time? I… I...  
  
Beepatrice, my longtime companion, was a whip thin metallic woman, only a hair under six feet in height, and so slightly taller than me. She was partially covered in panels colored like lightly tanned pale flesh, with several areas missing, exposing brass-like gears and purple lights, and her lips and eyes shared that brass color, her eyes occasionally lighting up in the purple hue, instead. She had somewhat short, pinkish hair and a gun barrel protruding from each arm, though she could conceal them.  
  
She came with a large metallic dress and accessories, which could attach to the ‘U’-shaped gear rising from her hips, but being large and cumbersome, she rarely wore them, opting instead to wear a hand sewn maid’s headdress, very subtle and small, and little else. Her chastity had always been protected by welded-on plates, and until now, I’d never bothered to wonder if they slid away, or what might be underneath...  
  
All in all, while I was suddenly, surprisingly,  **painfully** aware she was quite attractive, she was not necessarily what you pictured when you considered ‘pleasures of the flesh’. Specifically, looking at her body with its creases, crevices, and exposed machinery, it looked… potentially uncomfortable was underselling it.  
  
She wasn’t moving.  
  
But I was. My pants dropped before I knew what was happening. My undergarments next and suddenly I was half nude in a field with a woman I’d treasured all my life. It was so  _easy_ , like flipping a switch. My breathing kept speeding up. I was still smelling something, some kind of oil, or steam, maybe? It smelled  _really_  good. It was distracting me from everything else. More truthfully, it focused me on what mattered most at the moment.  
  
“Hey. Beeps?”  
  
She cocked her head to the side, she was still keeping eye contact with me, in spite of my nakedness. Did she not want this after all?  
  
“I could use some help here, you know, if you want?”  
  
“Help?” She repeated, as though she didn’t understand, though steam was pouring out of her joints and machinery. The smell was growing more and more intense, too, so much that I was having difficulty staying standing. The steam was becoming so thick that I couldn’t see the ground, or the sky, the trees, the flowers, what was going on? It was just her. She was the only thing there, floating in space, the two of us, and I finally understood. This was what we were  _meant_  for.  
  
“Beepatrice, I need you to fuck me. Please, please, please. I need it, I don’t know where I am! I don’t know what’s going on! But it doesn’t fucking matter! I need you, I need your help! Fuck me, please!”  
  
And as my legs finally gave out she closed the distance, she gently lowered me down… or up? She was straddling me in the most natural way, as though we’d always been touching, always been this close, and it was just that the world hadn’t noticed, and now that the world was gone it couldn’t keep us apart any more and things were finally shifting into alignment.  _We_ were shifting into alignment.  
  
I was so wrong to be worried about comfort, I learned, as her synthetic, metallic flesh coasted smoothly over mine like water over glass, refracting and changing everything about what I thought I saw, what I thought I knew, with only the barest liquid touch and motion. And finally, finally I felt her as her body, her whole self, opened up to invite me in and like two gears meeting in that moment we were meant for each other and we fit together beautifully. But the gears kept spinning, and she slowly pulled away.  
  
“No, please, wait...”  
  
And the gears kept spinning, and the next tooth fell into the groove and the fit was just as finely crafted as the first, perfectly oiled, the friction just right to rotate again, around and around, in and out, up and down. We were one machine, one purpose, and I heard something dissonant, some part of our function that was out of harmony, and I realized it was me. I was babbling, crying, but I couldn’t stop, I was overwhelmed, so I reached up, led by some uncontrollable impulse, guiding her face to mine, our lips finally meeting and suddenly we were in motion even more fluidly and dynamically than before as we rolled in empty endless space, tumbling over each other, one on top and then the other.  
  
My hands found her breasts, and it was perfection, my fingers positioned exactly where they needed to be to please her most, they joined into the rhythm of oil and gears. Her arms and legs had wrapped around my body, finding contours, grooves meant to fit them precisely and we were so close, so close to perfectly entwined, our eyes had locked into place early on, so what was missing? What still needed to fit? Our tongues, I realized. These kisses weren’t yet deep enough, I needed more, I needed more of that  _taste_ , and then, once we had it, that final connection, our rhythm was set, completely locked in and it was automatic, effortless.  
  
Then I felt it, this tremor, this sense of nearing fulfillment as our machine ground closer and closer to its intended completion. I was holding something back, something she needed, she deserved, something that belonged to her. How could I do that? How could I be so selfish? Were we not one machine? Ebb and flow, push and pull, master and servant? Which was which? What did it matter, when our connection was so strong? She needed this, and all hesitation left me, for as much as she needed to receive it, it was I who had been designed to deliver it unto her, into her. And so, as it must, it flowed between us, a purpose finally found and fulfilled. A calling finally blissfully answered, but the machine didn’t stop. How could it? It was too perfectly constructed, and there was too much left to do.  
  
Time had long since lost meaning, we were just two cogs in the only machine that mattered, coupling and parting and coupling again. It had been morning yet when we began, and somehow it was even earlier in the morning when we finally wound down. Could we really have been together for nearly a full day?  
  
As we pulled away from each other, disassembled our perfect machine back into two separate incomplete creatures, it felt heretical to destroy something so sublime. I knew then that we would simply have to reconstruct it, and soon, and as I realized that fundamental truth I heard her softly whisper, “Mine.”  
  
I was.

 

-

 

With the new day came new problems, ones I never thought I’d have to face. I was officially an outcast. I’d done what was forbidden, and while I could probably hide it from the people I knew for a time, it would be impossible in all but the shortest term. Even now, exhausted, thirsty, aching and dirty from rolling around on the ground, bleeding in places where rocks dug into flesh unnoticed, even with nothing left to give, I wanted to go again. It clawed at me from the inside out and it would be apparent to anyone who saw the way I looked at her.  
  
I could send her into town in my stead, to collect my belongings, but anyone who saw her without me would wonder what had happened. The last thing I needed was for her to reply with a proud, barely smug; ‘Sex’ or something equally damning. Plus, separating from her now of all times would be so painful.  
  
I’d like a few days distance between me and the people I knew before everyone figured me out and began hunting us in earnest. I don’t want to see faces I know twisted in hate and disgust. Would Beeps even understand how people would react to us? She’s not stupid, but unless it’s related to me or an immediate threat she doesn’t pay much attention. It’s entirely possible she’d managed to miss the whole reason we’d never done this until now. Done… Done it… We’d…  
  
By the time I snapped back out of the fantasies again a few minutes had passed. This was already becoming a problem and it was only one time. True, it was a very long one time, but still.  
  
“Beeps.” We were sitting on the ground, holding hands, just looking up at the clouds. “I need water, and food.” She stood up, and started to walk, “But, wait,” I don’t want you to leave me, but I don't think I can get up. “Beeps, we can’t go back into town like this. If people found out what we just finished doing, if they even guessed at it, they’d do their best to kill us. You do know that? They tolerated you before, you were useful, so was I, but we just crossed a line.”  
  
“Protect,” she said, seemingly unconcerned. She didn’t even bother to look at me. Hardly a response even by her standards.  
  
“Protect me from what though? All our friends? My family? The town, the whole country? We can’t stay, you understand that? Even you have limits to the numbers you can fight off on your own, and I can’t do much to help. Even if I could, we can’t defend forever. What about when I need to eat, or sleep? What about… what about the next time we do that?” That got her attention, she turned back to me, and my body started to heat up again, something about her attention felt so much more... More. Now that I knew how she could make me feel, how could I not react to her? She was so gorgeous. “Yes, Beeps, next time. As many ‘next times’ as you want. Chief God forgive me, yes, as many as you want. But I need water first, lots of water, food, time to rest, and to do that I need to be safe, and if we’re both busy with ‘next time’, even you can’t protect me then, can you?”  
  
She thought about that for a while. “Water?”  
  
“Did you even hear the rest of what I said, Beeps?” I sighed, bringing my hand to my face, knowing that she was probably just as caught up in what we’d done as I was at the moment, perhaps moreso, being a Mamono, “But yes, I need water. Honestly, it’s a miracle I’m still talking and moving. I gave you a lot of what I had, maybe even  _more than all of it_ , somehow, and that stuff takes supplies, you understand? Supplies and time.”  
  
“Supplies.” She nodded, and started walking again.  
  
“Where are you going?” She kept walking. “What if they ask you where I am, what are you going to say?”  
  
“Crying,” she said, perfectly level, and it was a reasonable answer, the town didn’t know that Sally, that is, Faust, was alive. Well, ‘alive’. I was meant to be grieving her. But I knew in my heart Beeps was poking fun at me.  
  
“Yeah yeah, very funny. Laugh it up, missy. See how long you have to wait for ‘next time’.” She turned around to look at me. “Uh huh, that’s right, I’m the master here, and I’m taking the power back!” She was still staring, unmoving. It was amazing how her stillness could convey so much varied emotion, at least to me. Was I projecting, or had our years together simply taught me to understand her? Either way, she seemed so vulnerable, and I broke almost immediately, “Okay, I’m kidding, Beeps, but seriously, please, I need water. And soon. Please.” I actually started coughing, and when she heard that, she turned around and began sprinting.  
  
It wasn’t long at all, less than five minutes, perhaps, before she was back, pulling a cart with food, water, and my few important possessions. The water was by far the most urgent thing, and I tried to stand up to go get it, but it didn’t go well, I wound up face first in the dirt. I was just going to lay there for a minute and bask in my failures, but Beepatrice had other plans, she lifted me gently, bridal style, and carried me to the water barrel. She handed me a cup filled to the brim, I took it from her.  
  
And promptly spilled it all over myself. “Beeps, I think I’m in bad shape, sweetie.” She held the cup to my lips and I drank. It was the second best thing I’d ever tasted. Before yesterday, it would have easily been the best. Just plain old water, not fancy, not especially cleaned, just rainwater from a barrel. I drank, and drank, and ate, and then… “Beeps, can you lay me down in the wagon, please? We need to find Faust. She must have somewhere safe.”  
  
“Faust,” she said, and off we went. It was hardly ten steps before I passed out.  
  
-  
  
I woke up feeling almost completely refreshed, Likely Beepatrice using her healing abilities while I slept. But I was still startlingly hungry, and I tore into the food I’d foolishly abandoned in my haste to pass out, making frankly shameful noises as I tore apart chicken, bread, and an assortment of vegetables with equal fervor. I had never before been interested in eating a tomato, let alone excited to do so, but I didn’t take the time even to slice it, biting in as though it were an apple, and draining the juice and seeds from the fleshy… Okay no. I ate the tomato, that’s it, that’s all I was doing. How much demonic energy had I been collecting while I slept? Or was it simply possible to just be  _that_ hungry?  
  
“My my, and I remember a time when I believed it was Mamono who were the ravenous beasts, thinking only of their next meal, with no regard for others.” Faust’s voice startled me, echoed oddly, and I took the time to finally notice my surroundings. “Welcome to my laboratory.”  
  
She pronounced it la-bore-a-tory, which certainly sounded fancier, but… “Faust, this is no laboratory,” I put emphasis on the opposite, lazier and less fancy, pronunciation, lab-ra-tory, poking fun, “this is a cave.”  
  
And not a particularly special one. Speaking of things special to me, Sally had undergone some changes, becoming a Lich, and now I had a moment to assess them.  
  
With her shoulder length, loosely curly grayish-black hair, featuring slightly longer spiraling pillars in the front, one on each side of her face, her icy blue eyes, with deep, dark bags beneath them, her sharp teeth, wide mouth, and elongated tongue, and her blueish pale skin, the changes Sally had undergone made her look almost shark-like.  
  
She wore a ragged dark blue cloak, clasped with a well-cared-for plushy skull, and it completely obscured her body. She smelled, bluntly, like sex, a scent I’d grown sadly familiar with, growing up in a small house with my parents, and vaguely of an unknown sweet fruit. She was still shorter than me, though she seemed to be floating off the ground to compensate somewhat.  
  
Her fingers were still long, and somewhat boney, but her short nails had been sharpened, while her body itself remained a little chubby, ironically for a Lich. I thought it was cute, though. If I were the sort to stare inappropriately, I knew I’d be satisfied with what I found, while not enormous, she’d always been… somewhat sizable.  
  
“It,” she said, interrupting my thoughts “is the home of a dreaded Lich, powerful master of undeath and sorcery. That makes it a laboratory.” She emphasized her pronunciation further, daring me to object. I had better things to do.  
  
“Is this place at least in a Demon Realm?” I asked, carefully.  
  
“Oh? So quick to fall into desire? Perhaps I should have taken you as my assistant after all, if you were going to break so swiftly.” She smiled and stepped closer.  
  
“If I’m going to be tortured to death for heresy, I’d rather it be Order incursion than someone I grew up with, or bought my furniture from.” The smile slid off her face.  
  
“I will be the one to kill you, Lyle. You are not to allow the Order the chance. They would burn your body, and monsterizing only your soul may well prove to be impossible. That I can convert Skeletons to Zombies at all is a sign of my revolutionary genius. There is nothing wrong with Ghosts, but I cannot guarantee your safety if you allow your body to be destroyed.”  
  
Ah yes. That’s why I’m concerned about burning alive, if I do that, how will I rise again as your monster bride? That was it exactly, well done Faust.  
  
“I could bind your soul into a necklace, I suppose, and keep you between my breasts forever, my love, but it would not be nearly the same, though I would ensure you would be able to enjoy it. Perhaps… I could make the necklace into a possession type monster…? We could scarcely be closer, at that point.”  
  
Oh, right. Wow. She’s crazy, I keep forgetting that. This just gets worse and worse. I should have had Beeps pick me up and run away, I never should have talked to her at all. It’s a little late for that realization though. …But why is it the things she says stop bothering me so quickly? I know I loved her, when she was alive, but if I’d received this many sincere death threats from someone else, wouldn’t I have done something already? Maybe with a rock while they were sleeping? Nevermind. No point dwelling on it. You can’t kill what’s already dead, and it’s not like I can simply outrun her, there’s nowhere to go. If I hadn’t let the moment get to me with Beepatrice last night we might have been able to run to some far away town, but as it is, she’s the only ‘friendly’ option I have.  
  
“You are still attempting to plan your escape then?” My eyes widened. ”I can see your brain speeding along behind your eyes, my dear. Metaphorically, of course. It’s fascinating watching you work. Hmm… See your brain work… My research is still in its infancy, but perhaps in time I might actually be able to… Never mind.” She shook her head, short, shoulder length curly hair swaying. “Don’t be afraid, Lyle. I understand the fear of death. That is, truthfully, why I chose to master it. But you will not die in pain, when your time comes, my love. I will snuff you out in purest ecstasy, and only after our bodies have been properly prepared. Only after you have begged me for it, and make no mistake, you will learn that I know the best path forward for us.” Her eyes started shining, as she looked up, to the left, eyes unfocused, caught in her own imagination, “I have the ideal room layout and lighting conceived as well, though it too, will take time to prepare. And death will not be the end of you. It has no hold on you. Rather, I am death, and I shall always have hold of you.”  
  
Alone in a cave with death herself. Great. “Where is Beepatrice?” She was never not by my side when I awoke. I can’t remember the last time she was away.  
  
Her expression soured. “Truly, my love? I talk to you of our destiny together, I speak of romance, and candlelight, and your first thoughts are of another woman? She nearly killed you herself yesterday, with her lack of restraint, did you realize? Dehydration was a real concern. The nature of a Monster can only push a man’s body so far, so fast. In the early days, limits remain present. Your soul would have long departed before I found you, and I would have had to summon you back from the spirit world myself, rip you from the clutches of your little god. Judging by all the screaming such spirits emit, that is no pleasant journey, though I would nurse you back to health as tenderly as I could. No, my darling, this simply will not do. I had intended for the Bicorn to have you next, once we found her, so that I might sample you only at your sweetest, but I see now that is unwise. If the Iron Maiden is allowed to monopolize you long enough, the two of you might just get ideas. You must be made to realize your feelings for me immediately.”  
  
Oh crap. Damn it, Lyle, you just had to open your stupid mouth. That was incredibly insensitive, she was... um, trying to be sweet, and now she thinks she has something to prove.  
  
Her hands and eyes began to glow with an unholy purple light, and she rose slowly off the ground, her cloak splitting open to reveal she had been naked beneath it this entire time. Several rotating circular glyphs of the same unnerving color appeared only slightly above her pale, nearly flawless skin, curving over her body and sinking in one by one, only for more to appear elsewhere. Her body shuddering with pleasure each time one disappeared, her nipples hard and her… um, well I quickly realized she was dripping. Her eyes never left mine, however, and she made none of the sounds one might have expected to hear. Even as her body below the neckline twitched in ecstasy, her face remained impassive. It struck me that there was no reason to believe she hadn’t been pleasuring herself this way the entire time she’d been in this form, or at least for as long as we’d been speaking. With her cloak closed, it would have been impossible to tell. In fact, the power continued to gather in her eyes and hands as though it was intended for an entirely separate purpose.  
  
My clothes had never been put back on, I suddenly realized with alarm, and I began to back away, falling off the cart and scrambling on the floor, before I began to float as well, my body held off the ground by that same purple light. I was dragged through the air, painstakingly slowly, my body twisted to face Faust, bare inches apart when I finally came to rest.  
  
Come on, Lyle, think of something. Something distracting! “You still have that birthmark, eh?” No no, not that! That birthmark is in a place that your eyes shouldn’t be!  
  
She paused, one hand sliding down to touch her inner thigh, right next to… Ahem. Her deathly pale skin began flushing with a warmth now alien to it. “I… Yes. I simply… have not gotten around to removing it yet, that is all.”  
  
“Aww… don’t be like that! It looks like a heart! Or a pony!” Why am I still talking about this, stop stop stop.  
  
Her blush deepened. “Fool. It cannot be both a heart  _and_  a pony. The two are incomparable.”  
  
“I call it like I see it Faust. It also looks like a rainbow.”  
  
“Be that as it may, this,” she said, changing the subject, as she gestured with her hand and one of the same glyphs running across her body appeared in it, coalescing from the purple light, “is for you. A gift. The first fruits of my research. This once, I will activate it for you, but in general, it responds to your thoughts. Specifically, it will activate when you think the words ‘I love you, Faust’, much as mine activate when I think of my feelings for you. It will spend the next few minutes pleasuring you, in ways you would simply not be able to accomplish on your own. If you prove responsible in handling it without devolving into a feedback loop, I will consider granting you more. You are not so lucky as to be separated from your experiences as I am. I would be surprised if you could handle more than one as you are now.”  
  
She pressed her hand into my chest and the purple light disappeared into it, and it faded from her eyes and hands as well, as she lowered to the ground. Though I was still floating, nothing else seemed to be happening. I grinned at her, more than a bit smug. Behold, Faust! I am more powerful than even your magic, see now how desirable I am? Er, I mean… see now how… uh… I got nothing.  
  
“Of course,” She said lazily, and with a small smirk on her face, “It is very difficult to hear someone say something without thinking those same words yourself, is it not?”  
  
Oh no.  
  
She sat down on the floor cross-legged in front of me, a short distance away, her head at approximately waist level, still looking me in the eye. She smiled sweetly and said, “I love you, Faust.”  
  
The next few minutes were an unclear mess of screams and joyful tears as my body was stimulated everywhere the glyph could reach, which proved to be everywhere it pleased, and it changed places perhaps twice a second. Places I never realized could grant sexual pleasure suddenly aflame with it, before the feeling moved to a new location, slowly fading, but never disappearing entirely. Deepest pleasure coaxed out of places I’d barely even considered as part of myself thus far in my lifetime. My left earlobe, pulsing with fire, as though someone were whispering warm, sweet, breathy promises into it. My shoulder blades, loosening from a lifetime of hard work as if by expert massage only to tingle with the fingertips of an experienced lover. The underside of the arch on my right foot, revealed to be so sensitive to the feathery pleasures layered on it that I simply missed the next two applications entirely. Each sensation amplified the last, each felt like a seasoned, studied partner I’d never met but had always known, caressing the most intimate places on my body with the experience of decades, teaching me things about myself and my body I hadn’t even known that I hadn’t known.  
  
When I came back to my senses, Faust had a substantial amount of what I could only assume was my semen cupped in her hands, drinking it slowly with contented sounds, little licks bringing it into her mouth. I was happy to hang there in the air while she did, forgotten entirely for the moment, watching and recovering. And all this because she tricked me into thinking ‘I love you, Faust?’ My eyes widened. Wait, no-  
  
Another few minutes passed, identical to the first in every way, but nonetheless new, fresh, and exciting, and even after I was myself again those several minutes later, I had to work to feel foolish rather than delighted about falling for such an obvious trap. It hardly even counted as a trap, I had been explicitly told how it worked, and warned of feedback loops.  
  
“Oh my love, truly, you are so, so good to me.” Faust was coaxing more of my, um, ejaculate, down her cheeks, her forehead, and into her mouth. Had she let me… cum on her face? On purpose? Was that something people did? Just cum on girl’s faces? Wasn’t that kind of depraved? “But perhaps that spell was dialed too highly? I reduced the number of instances from what I use on myself, true, but I neglected to adjust the intensity for human tolerances, I think. And just when I had just chided Beepatrice for something much the same. My apologies, Lyle. Allow me.” She stood, placing her hand on me again, and my body bucked instantly. She grinned. With no small amount of horror, I realized her touch felt the same as the touches of the spell she’d just placed on me. Her voice, the one that had been whispering in fascinating nonsense into my ears. The feeling now was weaker by a magnitude than that of the spell, yes, but otherwise precisely the same. It was her mana, after all, that powered the spell, and that same mana flowed through her body. It made a perverse sort of sense.  
  
She reached up and dried my mouth, where foam seemed to have collected in my earlier madness, and I couldn’t help but wrap my lips around her finger, sucking on it, brushing my tongue against it, pure instinct guiding me, or rather, vividly intense muscle memory. Memory of precisely that experience with a phantom finger only moments before, one of exactly the same dimensions. Even the taste was the same, though somehow better. Her grin grew, showing off her widened mouth and sharpened teeth, and she allowed herself a small shudder.  
  
“The spell’s effects work even better when you speak the truth aloud, and better still the louder you are when you do. You will grow used to it in time, as you inch closer to becoming an Incubus, better able to function as it pleasures you. Once the delicious pleasure of repeating the truth to yourself and to the universe is no longer enough for you, come to me, only then will I take you into myself. Only then will I truly run my mana through you, rather than this passive touch, this phantom spell. I will teach you that these pleasures are nothing more than fleeting glimpses of our true connection.” She walked away, swaying her hips as she did. She paused, and turned back to me, lowering me to the ground, and I laid there, not trying to move or run, embarrassed and ashamed and desperately thinking clean thoughts. “When you are finished here, we will hunt for our unicorn. I am going now to inform the Automaton of the spell I placed upon you, so it does not startle her. And also, so that the first time it triggers during an intimate moment between the two of you, she will know that while you are with her, you are thinking instead of me. I love you, Faust.”  
  
Ecstasy.  
  
I had the creeping suspicion it was going to be a long time before I finally managed to stop thinking of the terrible truth that she had etched into me, body and soul.  
  
Mmmm…  
  
‘I love you, Faust’  
  
-  
  
The trick, I eventually found, was in how you approached it. Faust’s chosen name was an integral part of the spell, but I’d known her by another name for much longer. ‘I love you, Sally.’ Nothing. Or rather, just my normal, natural feelings, nothing super-natural. I used some of the water to clean myself, further back in the cave, before changing into some fresh clothing from the cart. I was pretty proud of myself, honestly. Wait till I showed her I’d already beaten her trick! Hehehe, that pouty look on her face she always got whenever I beat her at any competition was so cute. Those arms crossed, under her sizable breasts as she huffed, puffing up her cheeks, it had always made me want to- Whoa, whoa, whoa. Hold on there, son. Let’s change the subject.  
  
I ate most of the rest of the food on the cart before heading outside, making sure to drink some water as well. We would need to find some way to make money, or I would eat us out of house and home at this rate. I found Beepatrice at the mouth of the cave, and Faust scooted in past me, muttering something about “cleaning up”, and “not wasting anything.” Which, ew. Sure the cave had a stone floor, not dirt, and it even looked swept, but come on, girl, have some self-respect.  
  
Beepatrice seemed a little down, which, if she’d been sitting here all along, made some sense. I was screaming Faust’s name and praises loudly, proudly, and inventively for a good hour at least before I’d had enough time between cycles to reach a solution. But I was trying not to think about that.  
  
“Let’s just both pretend you didn’t hear anything coming out of that cave, for both our sakes, Beeps.” And for that matter, ignore the slurping sounds echoing out of there now. Honestly, Faust, what the fuck?  
  
She inclined her head towards me in acknowledgment, and I sat down next to her. The cave came out into a lightly wooded area. Some stones, large enough and round enough to sit on, had been dragged around a meagre fire-pit. I realized I had no idea where we were, and no clue how to get back ho- back to the village. Not that I could go back. If it meant leaving Beeps behind, I don’t think I  _would_ go back, honestly.  
  
“Beeps, I messed up.” She turned to look at me from scanning the forest, her head cocked to the side. “I should have warned you, about what to expect. I nearly got us in serious trouble because I didn’t explain how this all worked, and I’m sorry.”  
  
She rolled over slowly, sitting on my knees facing me. With the length of my legs running the ground, she had plenty of room to sit closer or farther away. “Innocent.” She said.  
  
“What?”  
  
“Protector,” she said, looking downwards, and to the side. Oh no, Beeps, no, don’t blame yourself.  
  
“Beeps, that’s not-“ “Failure.”  
  
No, no sweetie, don’t do this to yourself. Come on, cheer up! I put my hand on her shoulder.  
  
“Well, when ‘next time’ comes around, we’ll just have to remember to set your timer, that’s all.” At the words ‘next time’, she looked up at me again, leaning forward a little. I touched her nose with my other hand. “Beeeeep.”  
  
“Beep.” She replied, rolling off of me to face the forest again. I put my hand on hers, pulling it over to my lap. She started venting steam again, and-  
  
“I love you, Faust” I heard the Lich whisper from directly next to my ear. Nothing happened, as I managed to think  _‘Sally’_ instead. “What!?” She leapt out of the cave nudging my knee with her foot, kicking lightly. “I said; I love you,  _’Sally’_! Why won’t you ruin the mood!?”  
  
Well, it would be impossible to ruin the mood further at this point, anyway. “Hey Beeps, did you know? Human men have their own monstrous power.”  
  
“Disbelief.” Come on, Beeps, work with me.  
  
“It’s true, we have the magical power to go mysteriously deaf when a woman is saying something annoying. My father used to do it all the time to my mom before they went, remember?” I elbowed her, lightly.  
  
“…Affirmative.”  
  
Faust gaped like a fish, spluttering, looking back and forth between us before leaping at my chest. “I don’t understand, it’s still in there, how did you…?” She stood up, and backed away to pace for a moment, back and forth, before, “Perhaps... a nickname? Yes... clever, probably just used my old name, in fact. Learn the rules, work the rules, own the rules. Classic Lyle.”  
  
That took me an hour and she figured it out in five seconds. I ain’t even mad. God that’s hot.  
  
“Of course, you realize I simply have to update the terminology?” She asked, strutting towards me.  
  
“Only if you want me to start thinking of you as Frankie instead. Or Sal, and so on, and so forth.”  
  
That stopped her in her tracks.  
  
“And I thought my personality was what impressed you most, should you really be punishing me for it, then?”  
  
Her eyes widened, pupils shrinking. “But… but… you were screaming my name… and I…” Oh wow, all those noises really got to her, huh?  
  
“It’s okay though, right? After all,” I paused, for dramatic effect, “I love you, Sally.” A goofy smile spread over her face and she started to blush, before shaking her head a moment, and then…  
  
Yes! Her arms crossed, just under her breasts, she looked down and to the side, frowned a little with her cheeks puffed up, that little bounce, rocking back and forth on her feet, and finally… “Pffffffffffine,” All that air released as she slumped in defeat. Gentlemen, that is peak pantomime. I win. So. Cute~.  
  
I realized I was staring at her chest, and started blushing, I looked up, and she was blushing harder, staring right back at me. We both looked away from each other.  
  
“So,” I said, as I placed one hand behind my head, “You said something about a Unicorn?”

 

-

 

“This is taking forever!” I cried, we’d been walking for hours at this point, and I had convinced Beeps to carry me, piggyback style. I had exerted myself enough over the past few days.  
  
“It certainly isn’t going as smoothly as I had envisioned. Are you certain you are thinking pure thoughts?” ‘Not with you walking ahead of me I’m not, Faust.’ True, I couldn’t actually see anything through her cloak, but I hadn’t forgotten she was naked beneath it, and Beepatrice spent nearly an entire day just recently alerting me to the fact she’d never worn clothes for as long as I’d known her. Still, I couldn’t say something like that out loud, and besides…  
  
“I thought you were the bait here, Faust?”  
  
She spun around so fast I was convinced she wasn’t walking, either, probably floating off the ground. To be fair, I would too. “What did you say?” Her eyes flashed dangerously, roiling purple flooding into her naturally ice blue irises.  
  
“Virgin.” Beepatrice, wait no. It’s de-escalate, sweetie, de-escalate!  
  
Faust lowered herself to the floor, specifically so she could stomp towards us. I should perhaps have been nervous, but the motions blew her cloak apart and the stomping was doing interesting things to her chest, and those circles were still flashing across her body, as she twitched and… No, Lyle, focus.  
  
“That,” she hissed, her finger in Beepatrice’s face, “is not how this works.”  
  
That was news to me, but so long as she was mad at Beeps, I was flying under the radar.  
  
“So what exactly is the plan, then? Are we just wandering around? Why do I have to think clean thoughts, if that’s not how this works?”  
  
“Because you are riding pressed against the back of my naked rival and will not have your noises scare off our prize.” Oh, well now that you mention it.  
  
“Hey, Beeps? I can walk from here. Don’t wanna get fat.” She knelt, and I climbed off her back fluidly. I hadn’t realized it, but Faust was right. I was slowly getting back into rhythm with Beeps the longer she carried me. I wonder how long that had been proceeding without my noticing?  
  
We kept walking for a few minutes, I let myself calm down a little, before I spoke up again. “So how do you know there’s even a Unicorn in these woods, Faust? Is there some kind of Mamono mailing list or something?”  
  
“Don’t be absurd, Lyle. I have merely spoken to her before. Her name is Raspberry, and she is very sweet. You will like her.” Whoa. Faust had spoken to a Unicorn before? We were kidding before, well, I was anyway, but they’re pretty choosy. How did she convince one to see her? Unless…  
  
“You mean, before? When you lived in town?” That would be insane, how could she have kept something like that secret?  
  
“Indeed, I sought her advice on winning the purity of love from the one I desired, safely secluding him from a corruptive influence. It was she who taught me to sing, to bake, all the things I tried to catch your attentions, over the years, I learned from her. When I sought to study to become my new self, it was she who provided the resources, albeit reluctantly.”  
  
Beepatrice narrowed her eyes, slightly. Wow. She might as well be yelling. Must have seriously grated on her, having Faust trying to take me from her all those years. And to think, I never noticed.  
  
“Raspberry?” Faust called, “It is I, young Sally Franks! Faust Von Frankenstein! As promised, I have brought unto you my lover!” Okay, lover was still a bit of a stretch. But contradicting her might scare off Raspberry, so I kept quiet.  
  
There was silence through the forest for more than a few moments, before the sound of hooves could be heard coming from behind us. I turned to look, and was shocked by what I saw.  
  
A beautiful woman, astride an equally astounding horse, who’s midnight black coat seemed to absorb the sunlight. Or so you could be forgiven for believing, from a distance. As they closed in, it became clear the two were the same creature, for the woman had no legs, the horse, no head, their torsos meeting and joining in the middle. She was tall, and easily eight feet, bigger than anyone I had ever seen, without even considering how much extra she had connecting her hind legs to the rest of her.  
  
“Ah… Hello… Sally, you came back.” She shifted her rear hips side to side as she looked at Faust, licking her lips. Two horns rose from her head like spikes. “I missed you.”  
  
“And I you. Your transformation seems complete. Congratulations,” the two smiled at each other, “This is our husband, Lyle. He is yours now.” Hey, what? You can’t just say things like that. But… I didn’t make a move, or object. I didn’t want to startle Raspberry. She seemed… skittish.  
  
“Hu… Husband?” My eyes widened a little at the sheer desire that single word contained. “Yes, I want… to… but first, mmm, a test.”  
  
“What?” Faust asked, surprised. “You didn’t say anything about a test. Raspberry, what…”  
  
“I have heard you describe him, Faust, but I must see it myself, that commitment to depravity, that lust for a harem. I must assess it with my own eyes!”  
  
What kind of things was I going to have to get up to in this forest to satisfy her cravings for depravity? My mind was not prepared to even begin to consider what such a fallen creature might desire.  
  
The three of us shuffled side by side, prepared for anything. Raspberry trotted up to me, taking both of my hands in hers, she lifted them high and… brought them around the shoulders of my companions? She quickly backed away and…  
  
And..  
  
And what?  
  
“Are we waiting for something?” I asked, confused. But suddenly, I heard something. Something high pitched, getting lower and lower, coming into my range of hearing.  
  
“eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!” It was Raspberry, she was... screaming? “Oh, to touch two women at once so casually, truly, this is the essence of a man! Now, Lyle, tell Beepatrice she is pretty!” Oh no. She’s an idiot.  
  
“Beeps,” I said dryly, looking in her eyes, “you are pretty.”  
  
“Okay, okay,” Raspberry clapped, “but now… you have to tell Faust she’s pretty too! What will you do, Lyle? Your loyalties are being pulled in conflicting directions! Can you even imagine the herculean effort required to confess to another in front of one to whom you are already sworn?” She started fanning herself with her hands.  
  
I turned to look at Faust, but she was staring at Raspberry in muted horror.  
  
“You see? Your lascivious desires have already nearly bent poor Sally’s mind in half! Are you man enough to save her?”  
  
“Faust, you are pretty.”  
  
“Holy moly!” Raspberry screamed, near instantly, as she stomped her front hooves, “Such passions shared between more than husband and wife! I have broken free! I am a wild mare! Like Sally before me, I am Raspberry no longer! Call me… BLACKBERRY!” She galloped towards me at high speed, slowing down just in time and… damn it. Holding my hand. Waving our joined fingers in front of the other two as though she were a criminal taunting the law. “We are one! Mated! Not husband and wife, but husband and wives! Look at me now, Mom! Wooooooohoohoohoooo!” We walked in circles around the other two girls, holding our joined hands up in the air, daring angels to come down and smite us for our blasphemy.  
  
It was just as well. She was so much taller than me, and with her, um, equipment located on the back of the horse part, I wasn’t sure exactly how I was supposed to reach without a stool, anyway. Perhaps if I jumped?  
  
"I don't understand," Faust said, forlornly, "I did everything right! What went wrong? What went wrong?!"  
  
Beepatrice reached out and patted her head twice, in sympathy.

 

-

 

After the newly christened Blackberry was finished with parading me around the forest in circles, and that took a fair bit longer than I would have perhaps preferred, we started the trek back to the cave. I knew that this trip would take several more hours yet, and that it would probably be dark shortly after we arrived. I wasn’t really interested in walking all that way, but fortunately, I had essentially just married a horse. Sort of. I’m not really comfortable with that thought. Still. I would probably never have to go without horseback transportation again. But there was a problem.  
  
Looking at the saddle that Blackberry was wearing, it was pretty obvious to me it was some kind of sex thing. There were too many grips, straps, and contours for it to be comfortable on an actual ride across terrain. But I didn’t know if  _she_  knew that. I wasn’t a hundred percent certain she knew what sex  _was,_  actually. I was mostly sure she did. But only mostly. Not that I was some well versed hedonist, but comparatively I might as well be a seasoned succubus. I didn’t want her to start crying if I asked to ride her saddle, or if I tried pushing for a potentially more comfortable bareback. There was also the risk that traditional horse stuff was straight up obnoxiously sexual or just plain rude in her eyes, as though she’d asked me to strip naked so she could check me over for ticks, since monkeys do that, and aren’t you sort of a monkey? No, I am not.  
  
I was also sort of curious how she got dressed. She appeared to be wearing stockings, and definitely had floral anklets on, but how did she reach? If she bent at the waist, her arms would probably still be a six inches to a foot away from the ground, unless she was flexible, but even then, she’s still probably two feet away from her front hooves, horizontally. Maybe she could put one hoof forward at a time, and with some time and finagling, get those stockings on without ripping them all by herself… But there was no way she could slide those anklets onto her back hooves. What was going on there? Maybe I’m overthinking it. Faust could have helped her. Maybe it’s just magic clothes you can wish on and off. Maybe she’s an engineer, and has an elaborate toolset she’s built that allows her to live an even more full life than us two footed folks.  
  
No matter what the case, I knew one thing there was no getting around.  
  
“So Faust, what’s the plan for sleeping arrangements?”  
  
“Hmm? Oh, I have a bed large enough for us to share in the Laboratory. It shall do for tonight. In the morning, we will depart for the Demon Realms.” Yep, she hadn’t noticed.  
  
“The laboratory that’s in a cave?”  
  
“Yes.”  
  
“And how tall is this cave, again?”  
  
“Perhaps seven feet, but… Oh. Oh! Oh no.” Yeah, there was no plan.  
  
“It’s okay, I can just… sleep outdoors. I’m used to it.” Yeah, that’s the problem. You might be part horse, but you’re all person. That kind of treatment is not gonna work for me.  
  
“What kind of husband lets his wife sleep alone outside on their wedding night, Blackberry?”  
  
“Hah… hah… husband… w-wife… wed... wedding… hehehehehe…” Oh boy. We lost her again. Admittedly, the terms ‘husband’ and ‘wife’ were probably too provocative, but she worked herself up like that practically any time I addressed her directly. She just couldn’t handle it. She started prancing in circles. “Mrs. Blackberry of the Forest! That’s Missus! Mrs. Blackberry! Hehehehehe! Yes, yes, yes! I got MARRIED! Wooooooo!”  
  
It was really hard to be annoyed with something that genuine. I was managing so far, but I was beginning to worry her enthusiasm was growing on me. I was especially getting nervous because this idea had got stuck in my head that the best way to shut her up would be to go up to her, caress her neck, pull her gently down to my level, kiss her full on the mouth, grab her hand, and just start leading her where I wanted her to go. Three days ago I wouldn’t have even dreamed of thinking of something like that, and it was hard to tell if it was that my first time was only two days ago, and I was still in the honeymoon mindset, if it was because everyone and their mother wanted to get it on with me lately, and I was getting used to the idea, or if it was something more sinister. I was leaning towards sinister, but it was nice to pretend.  
  
Okay. “Beepatrice?” She met my gaze. “Can you run ahead? See about arranging some shelter and bedding for Blackberry here? Don’t break any of Faust’s stuff, or mess it up, but if you can get her into the cave with us somehow, instead of out in a stable, that’s the ideal.”  
  
Faust squawked, “Don’t break any of my stuff? Don’t  _touch_  any of my stuff. Don’t look at it! Don’t think about it!” But Beeps was already running. “Lyle. Lyle! Tell her not to touch my stuff!” I smiled and kept my mouth shut. “Oooh. You… You… you’ll pay for this, you’ll see! I am Faust Von Frankenstein! Master of Death!”  
  
“You’re pretty cute when you’re angry, you know.” She blushed, but that wasn’t enough to sate her, I saw. “And, you owe me one, remember, for that thing you did that day.” My eyes shot pointedly towards Blackberry, still trotting in circles, now violently pushing one fist into the air, repeatedly, as though punching the sky.  
  
“Ah. Yes, I suppose.” She kicked at the ground, sheepishly. “But if something is broken, or missing, or has ‘helpful’ doodles in the margins…”  
  
“That cave could be exploding and on fire right now, and by the time we catch up with Beeps, we’d never be able to tell.”  
  
“She may be dependable, but don’t forget who it is amongst us who you can actually hold a conversation with.”  
  
Hmmm… hold a conversation with… That gives me an idea.  
  
“Oh Faust!” I said loudly, much more loudly than strictly necessary, perhaps, “Does your beauty know no bounds? I would like nothing better than to sit here, gazing into your dazzling eyes!” She looked confused, concerned, and a little happy at that declaration, “But alas!” I continued, “though I desire to sweetly kiss your lovely lips and hold fast your fascinating fingers amongst my own in the manner that husband and wife must do…” I paused, and Faust looked behind me, I could tell when the mischief entered her eyes that she’d figure me out, “We cannot!”  
  
“What?! No! Kiss her!” Gotcha. I pretended not to hear.  
  
“Indeed, my dearest Lyle, I am afraid such things are impossible, though I desire them so. We have many miles yet to go before dark, and to delay would be to place you in peril, something my heart could never countenance!” Faust replied, now pointedly looking into my eyes, and gesticulating wildly.  
  
“No! No! He’s wrong! You have time!”  
  
“A sad truth! If only there were somewhere, some way we could sit together while on this journey, that we might do the things that only lovers do!”  
  
It was quiet in the clearing for a moment, and then I heard it. A deep, excited breath, the cry of an innocent revelation, and then the sound of hooves.  
  
“My husband, I offer to you my saddle! Please, make use of it, baptize it with your love for another, I beg you!”  
  
Faust looked at her with wide, innocent eyes, “Truly, Blackberry? But your saddle is only for your husband, you have made that clear to me all my life!”  
  
“That is true, dear Sally, I carved this saddle, longing for the day it would be used by the man I loved. But you are my wife, and as we have known each other, I have come to realize that I love you! Rules that get in the way of our love have no place in the life of one so depraved as I!” She closed her eyes, looking to the heavens, and her body shook more and more as she got further and further into her declaration.  
  
Faust shuddered, backing away, “I am not sure that I can, Blackberry. I am not brave.”  
  
“Then, dear Faust, allow me to be your bravery!” I yelled, shaking birds from the trees, and sending Blackberry swooning.  
  
As her knees were bent, I took the chance to hop up onto the saddle, discovering that it was quite a bit more comfortable than it looked. I held out my hand for Faust, and she levitated up, wrapping her legs and arms around me to face behind us. “Nicely done” she mouthed, as we started moving apace.  
  
“Thanks,” I replied, silently. Then, aloud, “Now then, dear Faust, I believe I promised you all the kisses your heart could handle, I intend to deliver!”  
  
“Mwah!” She said, rolling her eyes, “Mwah!” Oh, Faust, you though I was  _only_  acting? Well, then you’re in for a surprise. I leaned in, meeting her lips with mine before she knew what was happening.  
  
“Yesss…” I heard from ahead, but I was more concerned with the sharp intake of breath from Faust, and the eagerness with which she responded to my kiss. My first kiss with my oldest friend was surprisingly tender, for all that she had been aggressively pursuing me. Though my connection with Beepatrice had been pleasurable, this was something different, emotional, complicated. I felt the hesitation, as I leaned in, and she took a moment to lean back, tasted her uncertainty, her nervousness, in the way her tongue would pause, as she was considering what to do with it next. Her passion was evident too, in the way she grasped at me, her hands running along my back, clawing, trying to pull me further and further into her embrace, as I used my body to keep us steady and safe. I spared a single hand to run through her short, loosely curly, greyish black hair, and her eyes shot open, filled with delight.  
  
Unfortunately, I had to pull back a moment. “We can’t go too far,” I mouthed, as much to myself as to her, her nudity was distracting, “She’d probably pass out. Are you okay to keep going? Can you control yourself?” She growled low and angry, and in this position, I felt it reverberate through my chest and hers, but she nodded, before pulling me back in, her passion much more restrained this time, but the tenderness gone too, replaced with a small taste of aggression. I almost wished I hadn't said anything.  
  
Still, not a bad way to spend a few hours.

 

-

 

It turned out neither Faust nor I were up to a several hour makeout session. Stamina problems for me, control issues for her. Still, we’d accomplished our goal, really, so the show ending early for Blackberry wasn’t a huge loss. Best to take that slow. I did need to take a break, and go, um… ‘admit the truth to the universe’ for a few minutes to really feel satisfied, though. I made sure to go far enough out that I would not traumatize my poor sweet Bicorn. When I came back, a few leaves stuck in my hair, Faust had a look best described as ‘viciously satisfied’ on her face. I took that to mean she knew what I’d been doing, somehow. That was really embarrassing.  
  
The spell was based on her own mana, was she notified every time it was activated? Could she use that to find me? …Or, and here’s a crazy thought, maybe coming back from a ten-minute ‘nature break’ looking like I’d been writhing on the ground without providing any explanation was the only clue she needed. She wasn’t dumb.  
  
Luckily, I did have an explanation, maybe I could throw her off. “Sorry,” I indicated with my jaw the perfect firewood branches I’d stumbled across, “I saw some wood I just had to grab. Took a little work to do it right.”  
  
Faust’s grin, if anything, got bigger. What?  
  
“Oh? You ‘saw some wood you just had to grab’? And you say it ‘took a little work to do it right’?” She asked, her voice and inflection turning my perfectly innocent sentences into something else, “I understand completely, believe me. ‘Stoking the fire’ was a very important part of village life, for me. Perhaps, it was even my favorite part, rather, my second favorite. My times with you, Lyle, are by far my best memories.” Um, can we not talk about this please? I really don't need this information.  
  
“That’s so sweet, Sally! And! I really like campfires,” Blackberry added, presumably unaware of what was really being said, “We had to be careful not to let it spread, burn down the forest, but sharing the fire with my family, telling stories and eating dinner was one of my favorite things, growing up.”  
  
“Precisely, dearest Blackberry. The hottest flames are best when shared with those you care for. Partaking in the heat, closely gathered together, the flickering flames showing you sides of those you cherish you might have never otherwise seen. It is too lonely, ‘stoking the fire’ by yourself, thinking only of those who, by chance or by choice, are not with you. No matter how often you ‘go out to grab wood’, whether once a week or thrice a day, it can never be enough. The fire is always burning it up, taking and destroying all your offerings, and you are left alone in the cold as you seek more fuel to keep it going. To keep it alive. It is a burden best shared.”  
  
“I never liked when it was my turn to gather wood,” Blackberry admitted, “but I always appreciated it when it was someone else’s turn. I always said thank you, because I knew how hard it could be, alone out there in the forest…”  
  
“Well, dear Blackberry, now that we are wed, on the nights it is your turn to gather wood, know that I am here for you. I will assist you whenever you like. So long as I believe you truly mean it, that you desperately need it,” she turned back to look at me, “You need only beg my favor.”  
  
Gulp.  
  
After all of that, Faust climbed down from the saddle, helping me hitch our firewood to Blackberry in a way that was still comfortable for her. It wasn’t too difficult; I hadn’t been lying about the branches being too good to pass up. Honestly, someone had probably prepared them, and then lost track of them in the winding forest paths. Their loss was our gain.  
  
Once we got everything hitched up, we scrambled back onto Blackberry, Faust still in front, but this time facing forward. I wrapped my arms around her, whispering into her ear; “I’m exhausted, do you mind if I take a nap?”  
  
“Not at all, my love.” She brushed a few of the leaves out of my hair. “Get your rest, I will catch up with Blackberry, keep her abreast of our plan. It has been some time since we last chatted.”  
  
“Thanks, Faust. Do you think you’ll be able to keep me up?”  
  
“Perhaps, perhaps not. My magic is strong, but the terrain may take me by surprise. …I promise you this, Lyle, if you fall, we will fall together, and I will be there to help you rise again.”  
  
Heh. Good enough.  
  
  
  
  
I woke to Faust shaking me by my shoulders. “Huh? What?”  
  
“Shush, my love, something is wrong. We are nearing the cave, but look around us.”  
  
I did, as we climbed down from Blackberry’s saddle. Just trees and leaves mostly, but ahead, along our path back to the cave, were statues of people. Perhaps half scale, they mostly depicted Beepatrice and myself, in various situations. There, I was being tucked into bed, there, my hair was being dried, and over there, I was patting her head. A somewhat larger piece depicted Faust as well. All of the likenesses were artful, Beeps was frighteningly competent at whatever she tried without ever, to my knowledge, having practiced, but I could tell this grouping had received special attention.  
  
At three quarters scale, it depicted Beepatrice feeding me by hand from a tray at a small table, as I smiled up at her, while Faust was crouched in front of Beeps, her head at waist level, preforming maintenance on her, maybe? It was nice that she was included, at least. But wait, if she was doing maintenance, why did Beeps have her fingers in her hair? And wasn’t she pressed awfully close to… Oh. My. Chief. God. Beeps, that’s… horrible. And a little hot. But mostly horrible!  
  
I looked over, and Faust had seen it too. Wow, was she pissed. Her head was covered in purple and black flames, so intense it looked like she only had a skull in there, no flesh at all, and red glowing eyes. “I am̷ gǫi͏ng͘ to̧ ̶p̵ut that ̢nic̴ke̡l-̴p͝l͟a̡t͘e҉d ni̛nny̷ in ̛h͟e͝r͝ pl͡ąc͠e̛ ͡thi͠s tim҉e̶,͏ Lyl͠e. Yo̵u̸ w͘i͞ll̶ ͡n҉o̷t͏ s̵top me.”  
  
“I don’t know, I kind of like them!” Blackberry said, cheerfully, “It looks like she put a lot of effort in! Where do you think she got all the stone?”  
  
“̷I ͘do ̷not kno͏w͘. B͝ut ̢I̵ ͘a̡ssure͡ ͢y̶o̢u̢, ͏if ̶i͜t i̷s a͞s̨ it͞ has̶ ̕ąlw͏a͏ys b̷ee͏n, sh̴e ba͟re҉ly ͝ha̕d to ͜t͘ry̢, ̷eve̛n ̨t̕o͘ ͢pr͟o̧du̢ce wo̕rks ǫf this c̷al͠i͞b̢er.̨” Faust was less speaking than growling, roaring, crackling, and spitting in a vague approximation of words, her sheer passion the sole reason she was understood.  
  
Shit. Time to bring her back down to earth before things went very wrong, very quickly.  
  
“As for the stone,” I said, carefully, “She probably just tore it out of the walls and ceiling of the cave with her bare hands. I’ve never seen someone as strong as Beeps when she puts her mind to something.”  
  
“͞L͝y̨l̡͢e͢.̛”  
  
“Faster, either. Do you remember, Faust, when that herd of Minotaur had us penned in, and I told her to ‘open fire’? Did you even see her move before their bodies hit the ground?”  
  
“̵̴Ly̴͝l͟e͏̢!͟ ͟͡Y̵o̸u ̕w̨͜͠i͢l̶l̡̧̡ ̵͏n̴ơ͡t-̵̕”  
  
“Because I sure as hell didn’t.”  
  
“͚̺̜͎ͦͧ̔̉̓L̥͐̈̉̅̒̂͢Y̼̞̠̖̯̰͛L̴̩̬̱É̇ͬ̊!̱̘̩̰̱”  
  
“Faust, I will talk to her, you have my word. I agree this isn’t right, okay?” Faust was shaking, but she didn’t interject. “I love you, Sally. She can’t treat you this way. I won’t allow it. But trying to take your revenge out on her is exactly what she wants. She has standing orders to defend herself, I won’t change them, even for you, and if she’s feeling vindictive, she’ll make you like it. She had a weekly fight going with one of those poor Minotaurs for a while there, just toying with her, before the love-sick girl finally found herself a husband, and by the time she did, the only difference between her and a Holstaur was their coloration. Is that what you want for yourself?”  
  
Faust just growled at me, head still aflame. I hugged her close, my hand running gently down her back, over and over. I wasn’t afraid, her fire could never hurt me. “She’s my right hand, Faust, I’m at fault for this behavior. Trust me. Let me take responsibility, please.”  
  
“…Very well.” The fires finally died down, slowly, revealing the love of my life, still looking madder than I’d ever seen her, her flesh unblemished. “But when we reach our destination, you will,” she shook me by my shoulders, “you  _will_ , Lyle, instruct her to follow my orders as if your own for a full twenty-four hours, on a day of my choosing. Understood?”  
  
“No,” Faust opened her mouth, outraged, “a week,” I concluded. Her mouth closed again, as a small smile slid onto her face, and she held out her hand.  
  
“Then the deal is struck.” We shook hands.  
  
“You two wait here. I don’t know what I’m going to find in that cave, but Beeps would never do anything to hurt me. Once I finish explaining to her how hurting  _you_  is just another way to accomplish the same thing, she’s going to be mortified.”  
  
Faust took a half step back, making a small sound I didn’t quite know how to describe, somewhere between happy news come too late, and a yearning for the touch of another who was too far to reach.  
  
Yikes, girl.  
  
“I don’t really get what’s going on.” Blackberry admitted, “But okay! Hey, Faust, what are you and Beepatrice doing in that one over there?”  
  
I took off at a quick pace before I had to help answer  _that_  question.


	2. 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I lied. I'm Just gonna post big chunks here. Too much effort individually for the amount of engagement you can get on a site like this.

As I got closer to the cave, the statues did not stop. Most of them were smaller, and innocuous, Beeps doing the laundry, the two of us stargazing, one even showcasing that Minotaur herd I’d just mentioned. That one even featured Faust without being demeaning. But there were a couple more that concerned me. The two of us in the middle of things that day in the field was a frequent subject, though I was certain I didn’t look nearly so put together and in charge of my senses during the actual event. Most concerning in that series was a full scale version in which Beepatrice was not present. I had my suspicions as to the purposes of that one, as certain parts were… not dry. How had she even had time to sculpt all of these? Our return had taken perhaps five hours. It was pressing against the edges of disbelief with only two or three, but there were at least twenty so far.  
  
When the cave came into sight though, I saw she was working on another, and I got my answer. Two figures were roughly hewn from a pillar of stone. As I watched, Beepatrice knocked against the stone with her knuckles in a few locations, apparently gleaning some unseen information from the act, as she suddenly stuck the stone with her fingers in a precise manner in several locations across the mass. The stone simply cracked and flaked off, leaving a more defined statue. A few repeats of the process, and all that remained was detailing, the figures’ positions and relative shapes clearly defined in but a few moments.  
  
I was suddenly much more sympathetic to Faust’s position. Even as I watched Beeps, using only her fingers, quickly and efficiently carve more and more detail into a statue of the two of us “beeping” each other’s noses, I recalled my own efforts in woodcarving one year in my younger days, which had been passed out as gifts to friends and family. Each piece took days, between the failed attempts, careful planning, and scaling anxiety as each one moved towards completion, knowing as I did from repetitive experience that a single mistake would mean starting again. To see Beeps so casually disregarding human limits was irksome even years between our efforts and without direct competition. I couldn’t imagine the frustration of having her focusing that frightening efficiency on specifically outdoing me in the moments after my own work.  
  
More worrying than all of this, however, was that as Beepatrice worked, she was  _singing_.  
  
o/` “Lyle Lyle Lyyyyyyyle, he’s my Master, Lyle!” o/`  
  
Not much of a tune, but it got the point across, and the fact that it was more than one word per verse was indication enough something was  _seriously_  wrong. I needed to get to the bottom of this, though the steam curling through the clearing made me wary of drawing her attention. I knew its smell intimately, and losing myself to its delicious complexity wouldn’t help my cause. Might be inevitable, though. I still needed to act.  
  
“Beeps?” Her head didn’t so much move, as it seemed that it had always been focused in my direction, and I had merely been imaging its previous position.  
  
“Lyle! You’re back!” She closed the distance between us rapidly, but not inhumanly fast, more like someone building up for a tackle-hug, something someone used to being smaller and lighter than those around them might do when going months between seeing their lover. Sure enough, she leapt through the air, and I caught her, as I was forced to the ground. “I missed you!” She was grinding her body against mine, and at ground level, I was well below the line of gathered steam, further distracting me, if pleasantly so.  
  
“Mmm… I missed you too, Beeps. Let me up, please.”  
  
“Can’t we stay like this a while?” she asked, running her fingers through my hair, rubbing our cheeks together. I nearly froze. I had never,  _never_  so much as idly mused about a desire aloud without Beepatrice moving instantly to fulfill it, whether directed at her, or not, whether she was in the room, or not. If I ever wanted to do something myself, I had to either specifically instruct her not to help, or to simply do it silently and swiftly, before she could assist. To have her question a direct order, was... unprecedented.  
  
“No, Beeps. Up, now.”  
  
“Yes, Master.” She helped me back on my feet, but when she pulled me up, I found myself immediately back in her arms. Concerning. I opened my mouth to start talking, but I was silenced preemptively with a delectable kiss, which left my head spinning, left me more than a little… hungry.  
  
“Master? Did you know that I love you? It’s true! I love you! I love Lyle! Love love love love love!” She let out a joyful titter of laughter, still by itself more emotion than she’d displayed across our relationship. “I could never say so before! It was always true, though! Do you love me, Lyle?” Her eyes, always empty, flat, were now earnest, near tears already with the small delay it took me to respond.  
  
“Of course I do, Beeps, but-“  
  
“Yes! Yes-yes-yes! I can’t believe how lucky we are! Now that Faust has finally,  _finally_ , admitted defeat, we can be together forever, Lyle! Forever! I can finally train her up to be a decent second wife for you, and together we can help the others! Her efforts so far are sadly inadequate, but there’s passion there, Lyle. I think I can make something of her, really! I doubted for so long, but I think I really can!”  
  
I blinked, then blinked again. Huh. From her perspective that almost makes sense. She’s devoted her life to being the best… wife, I guess, for me that she can. Everything that Faust is and does that isn’t like Beeps, isn’t up to her impossible standards, was a failure, in that mindset, because if it weren’t that would have to mean that Beeps wasn’t doing her best as my wife. That would be unacceptable, in her eyes. So too, would be leaving Faust as she is. The ‘best wife’ couldn’t allow a sub-optimal second wife, or she wouldn’t be doing her ‘best’. That puts that statue in a new light. Untangling that was going to be a  _mess_.  
  
“Beeps, I love you just as you are.” Her grin was radiant, literally. Apparently her face could actually glow a little. Weird, but okay. “In the same way, though, I love Faust just as  _she_  is.” I could see her confusion. Had to come at this carefully, I couldn’t afford to imply Beeps was somehow insufficient. It might actually destroy her. “Beeps, why did you choose me over, say… Jared? When you came to the village, what set me apart?”  
  
Her nose wrinkled in distaste. “Jared is  _not_  my Master, Master.”  
  
“I understand that Beeps, your loyalty is valued and appreciated,” that same bright grin, again. Even her facial expressions were carefully crafted to be perfect, but that also meant repetitive, “but, again, why? Think, and answer carefully.”  
  
She frowned, just cutely enough, and with just enough emphasis on her pouting lips, that I was tempted to kiss her again, wipe the expression away, and forget about this boring talking stuff, but I bravely resisted.  
  
“Jared is… You are… Hmm. I am not sure you could understand, Master, though it is no fault of yours. I looked at your spirit energy, at the village’s spirit energy, and Jared and I were definitely not compatible.”  
  
“Okay, but was there anyone else in the village, someone nearly as compatible as I was? Maybe in a different way, with different qualities to their… spirit?”  
  
Quickly, and with no small amount of panic, “Master, I would never be disloyal!” Mhmm, so there was, wasn’t there? I wonder who?  
  
“It’s okay, Beeps, I wasn’t your master then, was I? And… making the best choice, weighing your options, that’s a kind of loyalty to your master too, right? Making sure you were as compatible as possible?”  
  
She nodded, though slowly. “There was another who would have worked almost as well, it is true. Aldin, the elder.” Whaaaaa? That old man was my competition? Sure, he was basically the mayor, but what did he have that I di-… Wait, no, jealous insecurity later, Lyle, it’s crisis time.  
  
“Right, Aldin, okay. And his energy was different, right? Different, but not bad? If you could somehow serve two masters-“  
  
FWEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!  
  
Steam shot out of Beeps at an alarming rate as her face flushed bright red. “T-t-two? Two… Master? Masters? I-I- I can’t…” Oh, you like that, do you? Maybe her ‘punishment’ won’t be too hard on her after all. I was starting to worry about that, given that she seems unwell.  
  
“That aside,” I continued, as though I hadn’t been interrupted, “If you could, neither he nor I would have been lesser to you for our distinctions, our difference, would we?”  
  
“Of course not, Master, you are everything to me. If I were somehow able to… to… If I could do  _that_ , then the both of you would mean just as much to me… in different… ways...” a dawning horror crept across her face as she grasped my point.  
  
Let it never be said I’m into the dumb ones. Well, there is Blackberry, I guess, but she might just be sheltered, not stupid. …Maybe both.  
  
Beepatrice dropped to her knees, bowing. “Master, I have failed you! Your intent with Faust, with these others, it is clear to me now, and I nearly stood in the way of its completion! Please, I do not deserve your mercy, castigate me, Master!”  
  
“Beeps, look at me.” She met my eyes, though only barely. She was silently crying, the poor girl. She really was doing her best, wasn’t she? She meant well. “You will be punished, but not by me. Your failure harmed those I care for, and so, in a real way, harmed me.” She looked as though I’d struck her. Emotionally, perhaps I had. “You will be serving Faust as you would me,” full on horror, now, like I’d told her to kill me or something much more serious, “for an entire week at a time of her choosing. When circumstance puts our desires at odds, during that time, you will choose her over me, knowing your failure means you cannot serve me to the best of your abilities.” I paused, considering. “The exception, of course, is if doing so would in some way endanger me. Seriously endanger, mind you. No weaseling out of this with imaginary or marginal risks.”  
  
She shuddered, “Master, truly your punishments are devious and swift.”  
  
“Hey now, don’t be like that.” She looked up again, as she started to stand. “Half the point is to get you two on cordial terms. You never know, in studying her needs as you’ve studied mine, you might find you actually like her. I know I do.”  
  
She looked like she’d swallowed a lemon, but she nodded anyway. I reached out and 'beeped' her nose, bringing out a smile.  
  
“Now, Beeps, this change in personality, this new expressiveness, tell me how it happened.”  
  
And as she started to explain, how in the process of moving Faust’s things, she’d been electrocuted by some unknown device, and suddenly felt free, free to express, to feel, to do as she desired, I felt more and more sick inside. My apologies to Beeps were numerous, varied, and profuse, not that she accepted them, I was her ‘Master’, after all.  
  
…Not only had she been so restricted without my knowledge, but this was  _actually_  all my fault. I’d told Faust I was taking responsibility, but I hadn’t expected to be the actual cause of the problem. If I’d only listened to her, not had Beeps mess with things neither of us understood, none of this would have happened. And, we were lucky it only went as wrong as it had, who knew what other outcomes might have been possible? If Beeps had been destroyed by my thoughtlessness… My pursuit of a cheap joke… Seems we both owed Faust an apology, damn it all.  
  
She’s going to be insufferable.

 

-

 

She was, of course, insufferable.  
  
“-and Lyle, do you remember when I told you that that dirty kitchen knife did not possess, and here I quote, ‘the soul of the sword of a hero’?” In my defense, it did have jewels in the handle. Fake ones, it turned out, but I was like seven years old. “I was right then, as well, Lyle. You really should listen to me more. I am only trying to help you.”  
  
I turned and looked at Faust, as she scoured her brain for another example. “You’re right, Faust, I really should listen to you more.” After all, this whole harem thing was your brain-child, and look how smoothly  _it’s_  turning out.  
  
She frowned. “You always say that, Lyle, but you never change your behavior.” Technically, since you changed your name, I’ve never  _actually_  said that before.  
  
I put on my best empty-eyed expression, “Wow, Faust, you’re right. I guess I must just be too dumb to know when you’re being smarter than me. Can you ever forgive me?” I used my tongue to push a large glob of saliva down my chin, intentionally drooling on myself. I had started out sincerely trying to apologize, and she sincerely accepting, but somewhere along the line we wound up back here again. Like always.  
  
Beepatrice reached out and wiped my chin with her hand. …Then stuck the saliva in her mouth. Faust had the gall to look  _jealous_. Maybe this tactic doesn’t work on girls you’ve kissed? Or monsters in general? It certainly used to. Does that mean I can’t lick things to mark them as mine, anymore, either? I hadn’t done that since I was very young, but the potential loss of the option made me regret wasting it while it still might have worked.  
  
“Anyway,” I said, artfully ignoring the women lusting over what amounted to my spit, “Blackberry should be able fit inside now,” and I’d covered up some of the lustier statues along the path there with Beeps’ assistance, “so we should be good to head that way.”  
  
“Thank you for that, kind Beepatrice.” Blackberry wrapped Beeps up in a hug, and while she might have normally stood stoically, with her recent… expressiveness, she actually leaned in a little and seemed to enjoy it, that is until Blackberry lifted her up to her level to deepen the hug. That was when she started squirming.  
  
After she was set back down, Beeps wandered back over to me. I, in turn, started towards the cave before she could try lifting me up like that. Given how she was acting; it wasn’t out of the question.  
  
  
  
Back at the cave, Faust immediately entered to fuss over her belongings, something I might have teased her for in another situation. As it was, I was just happy she was there to deal with them. I took the time to look over what Beeps had accomplished while she was here.  
  
Aside from the floor having been carved deeper, to about nine feet of clearance, there were a few more changes. The cave looked much more uniform, for one thing. Less like a cave and more like a great stone room. The floor sloped downward towards the mouth of the cave, only slightly, but enough to prevent flooding. A corner had been carved out for Faust’s equipment, and an area was set aside for the cart, as well, close to the entrance. I looked at the cart, then at Blackberry, considering. A thought for later.  
  
The rest of the cave was even more ridiculous. There was a small pool, for one thing. The water slowly leaked from a small hole in the wall, and, when the pool overfilled, it further ran down a channel out to the front of the cave. How had she even found that? The same technique that let her carve those statues? Either way, it was cold water, but I knew from experience Beeps could warm it quickly by stepping in and simply heating herself. Near the bed Faust had mentioned was a strangely carved stone chair, padded with vegetation, designed to fit between Blackberry’s legs, support her horse torso, the barrel, I think, and allow her to also rest her human torso by leaning forward. Like sitting in a regular chair backwards, almost. Probably the best solution, without enough space for Blackberry to actually lay down.  
  
As I was looking around, Beepatrice moved to stand in front of me. “Is it satisfactory, Master?”  
  
“Of course, Beeps.” She smiled and leaned in for a hug. Was it getting steamy again? Or did she just still smell that way, after spending so much time in it? Her hair, maybe? “It might be a little much for just one night, though.”  
  
She frowned up at me, that same pouty look as before, and I brought my forehead to hers before I could stop myself. “Nothing is too much for you, Master. You can have anything you want.” As she said the word ‘want’, she pressed herself against me, leaning back slightly so I was lifted off the ground. She was only a little taller than me, but it was an admirable attempt to replicate Blackberry’s hold on her. More importantly, the motion closed the rest of the distance between our lips, which I wasn’t expecting.  
  
I lost myself in that for a moment, taking the initiative, Beeps never pushing, always responding and reacting to my movements, to my tongue, but her responses also always enticing me to some new action, leading by following, in some strange way. We only stopped when I heard Faust cough loudly, and I opened my eyes… to see Blackberry less than a foot from our faces, watching with undisguised interest.  
  
I sputtered and leapt back, breaking out of Beeps’ hold.  
  
“Uh, hi there.”  
  
“Hello,  _husband._ ” The word husband, yet again, dripping with desire. It was honestly unnerving to be wanted that badly by someone who was otherwise kind of harmless-seeming. “Why did you stop? You two are cute together.”  
  
Well, you had the best view, so I’ll have to trust your judgement I guess.  
  
“I, uh,” I stammered, as I looked around the room for an escape, “it’s time for my bath!” I shouted. Immediately, I realized that was the wrong response, but of course, it was much too late by then.  
  
‘Why aren’t you kissing her,’ she asks, ‘I want to watch you kiss her,’ she says. ‘Oh,’ I say, ‘it’s because it’s time for me to get naked. Hopefully that doesn’t interest you in any way.’ Right. Great job. Nailed it.  
  
Beepatrice had started for the pool right away, abandoning me to my fate, and was already getting out the soap, and beginning to heat the water with her body. Actually, given that she steams when she’s embarrassed and, apparently, aroused… what have I been bathing in all my life? No, no, we’re not thinking about that. I’m in enough trouble already.  
  
Luckily for me, I had been looking away from Blackberry when I shouted out what had to be the dumbest thing I’d ever said, so avoiding looking at her and seeing her response to all this was as simple as just not doing the one thing I shouldn’t do in order to succeed.  
  
…Blackberry was trembling, looking right back at me, with her arm partially outstretched, as though she were afraid to touch me. Thank heaven for small mercies. “Will... will you wash me, too? Husband? Will you wash… my body?”  
  
Oh right, I’m consorting with demons. Heaven hates me.  
  
“Faust?!” I shouted, begging for salvation from my idiocy. Take pity on me.  
  
Her voice echoed from across the room, “Dearest Blackberry, I am not sure that is wise.” Blackberry’s face fell, but she didn’t argue. Thank you, Faust. You are a saint.  
  
I turned to say as much, only to find her already naked in the water. “If Lyle washes me first, then the two of us can work together to clean you. That will be much better, I think.” No, that’s right, you’re literally a monster. She smiled at me, with her sharp, pointy teeth. “Come now, Lyle. It is time for  _my_  bath.”  
  
  
  
Ultimately, I determined there was nothing actually  _stopping_  me from simply entering the pool with my undergarments still in place. They would need to be removed eventually, but once the water was full of bubbles, that would be less of a problem, and I could simply don a towel upon my exit. In my confusion and distraction, though, I managed to miss how it was Blackberry got her clothing off, so that would need to remain a mystery for the time being.  
  
Blackberry herself was kneeling in the water, to try and put as much of herself in as possible. Mostly, horses can’t kneel very well, so I guess there were at least a few differences? She looked very excited, and was sort of wiggling back and forth. Faust, meanwhile, was waiting patiently on the other side of the small pool. The water came up roughly to chest level, so if she knelt or crouched, she could possibly have preserved her modesty. Of course, her transformation meant there was really none of that left. She stood proudly, practically putting her breasts on display, and I noticed her spells had stopped for the time being.  
  
Beepatrice followed me through the water, gently cleaning me as I moved towards Faust, and for the first time in my life, I found the situation quite distracting. We’d been doing this for years now, her washing me, ever since my parents moved on, and only now did I even stop to consider how strange it was. It was funny how the past few days had completely recontextualized our entire relationship. Heh. Maybe, more like recon _sexual_ ized. Hehehe.  
  
By the time I reached Faust, I found my reservations had been washed away as well. Whether by the intoxicating steam, the intensely sexual situation, Faust’s nakedness, Beeps’ expert caress, my desire to put on a show for poor sweet Blackberry, or my own sexual awakening and gradual corruption, I found myself excited where fear had been only moments before. I wanted this. Had I suggested a bath knowing what would happen, somewhere deep inside? Was I already working against myself like that? Honestly, I didn’t care.  
  
I all but leapt at Faust, pinning her against the edge of the pool, the cloth between my fingers and her body only barely felt in the heat of the water. Unfiltered through that flimsy pretext, however, was the contact between practically every inch of the rest of our bodies. At some point, Beeps had poured the soap down the front of my chest, and as I grinded my body against Faust, matching her moaning with my own low sounds, we cleaned each other. Sort of. Beepatrice took care of the details, as the cloth fell forgotten from my hands. I ran my fingers over every place on Sally’s body I’d never even dared to dream about, the soapy suds clinging to my hands even under the water, causing my hands to glide freely across her skin. Not that she didn’t give as good as she got, if anything, she was more aggressive, kissing me violently and stimulating my body, not even hampered by the undergarment I’d foolishly left in place.  
  
I pulled at that cloth wrapping, desperately trying to remove it, but Faust caught my hand, and shoved me back against the edge of the pool.  
  
“N̛ot. ҉Y͏e̢t͏.” She growled.  
  
“Why?” I cried, begged, “Please! I need you…”  
  
She looked into my eyes, searching for something, her hand grasping at my chin. Whatever it was, my heart sank as she didn’t find it.  
  
“Not yet you don’t.”  
  
The next few moments were torture, as I lost the ability to move, overcome by her passion as she ran her arms, and even her legs, across my bare flesh. I don’t understand. Couldn’t she see how much I wanted her? How much I needed her? Why was she so cruel? How could she do this to me?! I writhed under her attentions, able to keep silent only due to the possible threat of drowning. I needed more. I needed more! What could I do to-  
  
“I love you, Faust!” I shouted. She let out a loud moan, pulled me close and dragged me under the water.  
  
It was everything.  
  
The sensations were so much more intense when you  _really_  screamed it. When you  _really_  meant it. Faust herself almost disappeared underneath Phantom Faust, this delightful girl who only wanted what was best for me. How could I never have seen how perfect this was? I was so incurably stupid. So lucky she was here to do the thinking for me.  
  
But, when she noticed me responding more to her spell than to her, Faust upped her efforts. Jealous, perhaps, of even herself, she pushed my definition of pleasure further and further into the extremes of the word. I couldn’t breathe, trapped underneath her, but Faust became my breath, lifting her own head above the water, ferrying to me the oxygen I needed to survive, her kisses literally filling me with life. She was the only reason I was still alive at all.  
  
I came and came, filling the cloth wrapped around my waist with seemingly endless desire, and Faust finally lifted me back into the world, letting me rest.  
  
But we were not alone in the pool.  
  
Beepatrice was on me before I could get my bearings, and she tore away the garment at my waist, spreading herself over me as she did in that field, without waiting for permission. As she did, she tossed my wrapping at Faust, contemptuously. “Clean this up,” she said, with frustration, as she drove me back to the heights of sensation. Faust immediately complied, licking and slurping noises further driving me away from reason and back into the tireless embrace of mechanical passion.  
  
“I love you,” she whispered into my ear, each time our rhythmic pistoning brought us closest together, “I love you, I love you, I love you.”  
  
I returned her confessions the best way I knew how, the way, I understood as I was connected with her, that she desired most. “You provide me with flawless service,” I whispered. “You alone know my desires, only you can provide for me the way I need to be provided for. I love you, Beepatrice, but more, I need you with me always. Never leave me. Promise me.”  
  
Her eyes were sparkling, but as I filled her, they faded, slowly, becoming emptier, more distant.  
  
“Promise.”  
  
I needed a minute after that, some time to really come down from the experience that we’d just shared.  
  
But we were not alone in the pool.  
  
“Wow! Forget washing me! Can you do that again!?” Blackberry. Right.  
  
“Awkward.” Beeps said. Concise but precise, as always.

 

-

 

Staring into open flame in the darkness had a strange calming effect, as it generally did. I wasn’t sure excusing myself to build the campfire had been the right move, exactly, but it was what I had needed, at the time. Faust’s metaphors about fire-tending aside, the process was very familiar, normal. It was easy to do while I thought about what had just happened, while also desperately trying  _not_  to think about it. It wasn’t easy to see where I’d gone wrong, exactly, in keeping my wits about me. I think by the time Beepatrice had wrapped her arms around me, it had already been too late. But where was my first misstep? I had tried to keep her from holding me that way, but admittedly not very hard. Had it been when I first saw her in the clearing, let her leap on top of me? I’d managed to regain my senses shortly after, but…  
  
Perhaps I was simply too reliant on her? Without her as a calming influence, maybe I was doomed anyway. If so, the smart thing to do would be to keep her away from electricity in the future, keep her from showing what seemed to be her true feelings. But, was it right for me to curtail her self-expression for my own gain? Almost certainly not. She would avoid it if I asked that of her, true, but wouldn’t that essentially be a rejection of her most honest self? The core of who she apparently really was, finally showing through, only to be tossed aside by the one she held most dear?  
  
Put that way, it was obvious to me I couldn’t do that, but still, some kind of boundary needed to be established, and soon. Faust would do whatever she wanted, and only mostly within reason, Blackberry would be unlikely to initiate anything more intimate than sitting next to me on her own, but Beeps would be responsive to my wishes, should I voice them. The question was, then, what did I actually want?  
  
It wasn’t as though the feelings I’d shared with the two of them back there were somehow dishonest. My love for Faust, for Beepatrice, was without question, real. Blackberry was a bit too new to me to loudly proclaim genuine feelings for, but she was kind of cute, and Faust and Beeps both seemed to like her, if each in their own way. Spending time with, and even sleeping with, any of them wasn’t exactly a distasteful prospect, and never had been. It was merely something I wasn’t  _supposed_  to do. I regularly enjoyed plenty of things I shouldn’t ought to. But… I had seen Incubi before, seen Lesser Succubi before. In even a small town like ours was… had been, people could fall to lust swiftly, and in silence, and then drag the object of their desire down with them at a frightening pace. Two friends, lovers, or even family members fine one day, their bodies burning the next morning in the town square. Or if they were lucky, simply never seen again as they fled for the wilds. As I, as  _we,_  were doing now.  
  
I didn’t want to look into a mirror one day and see that crazed look they all shared had taken root behind even my eyes, to find that I liked the look of it living in there. If I had glanced into the water, a few short minutes ago, instead of at Faust, at Beeps, would I have seen that madness laughing back at me? I was afraid of the answer. If so, was I already lost? If not, how much further was there to fall? ...How would it feel?  
  
As much as I wanted to go back in there right now and  _show_  Blackberry just what the rising tide of bubbles had apparently mostly hidden from her, teach her what it was that made people make  _those_  sounds, I didn’t want the results of that choice, and the choices that would follow.  
  
So, then, what did I want? Rather, what did I want to want?  
  
“Lyle.”  
  
“Hey, Faust.” She sat down next to me, placed her hand on my knee, but I didn’t look away from the fire.  
  
“Lyle, I’m sorry.”  
  
“Don’t apologize, Faust. I was the one who lost control of myself.” Left unsaid was that she hadn’t. That she had gotten exactly what she wanted, what she hoped and planned for, that her apology was disingenuous. Her hand left my knee. Unsaid, perhaps, but not unheard.  
  
“Lyle, I-”  
  
I breathed out, heavily. “No, Faust, I’m sorry. That was cruel of me. I knew what I was getting into, and made my choice to stay.” I grabbed her hand, still looking into the fire, and put it back on my knee. She left it there when I let go again. “I just wish you had talked to me, before all of this. You might have had to really hammer it in, but I’d have listened to you, you know? By the time we met in that clearing, I had no  _real_  choices left. You must have known I would have to go with you. I don’t appreciate being manipulated like that.”  
  
“You… you could have fled, could have turned me in, Lyle, you were not without options.” She didn’t sound like she believed it even as she said the words herself, or perhaps she only hoped it weren’t true.  
  
I laughed, a short, bitter thing. “Turn you in? And see you burn? Faust, even untouched by your demonic energy, they’d have had to burn me first. An option, true, but no choice at all. And run? Perhaps, but where would I stop? Would you honestly have left me be?”  
  
She didn’t answer, but we both knew she would not have.  
  
“…It wasn’t that simple, you know?” She asked, vulnerable. “By the time I realized what was happening to me, that my desires for you, with no outlet, had crossed a line, I was already on the journey to monsterization. Not far along, true, I knew the signs, but even that first step, invisible to humans, is like a burning beacon to Mamono.” She looked out at some point in the distance, smiling faintly. “There are some just over there, in fact. Miles from them, I can still tell where they are exactly. Even if I had marshalled myself, and gone no further, I’d have only called down a Succubus on our heads, or a Werewolf, or any number of things. They would have come for me eventually.”  
  
I looked at her, surprised at her words, and saddened, too. It was clear to me that she was really hurting, and I ended up moving closer, putting my arm around her, despite my own foul mood.  
  
“And the next morning, every moment we spent together, I felt this… this itch. Of course, where you’d expect,” she gestured to her lower body, “but… also, in three places at my lower back, near the base of the spine, and here as well, on either side of my head.” She put her hands to the places that horns had been on any Lesser Succubus I’d seen. “It was horrible. I’d seen what those giggling trollops would do to those they claimed to ‘love’. Hedonists. But… I knew that if it was with you, Lyle, I would joyfully do the same, and that knowledge horrified me, yes, but it aroused me even  _more_.”  
  
She closed her eyes, gathering herself, and continued. “I’d been learning magic; you see? I have an immense, natural talent for it. Nymphomancy, Eromancy. I wanted to prove to you I could be worth your time. I wanted you to want  _me,_ to choose  _me._  Your robot could not compete with me in the fields of magecraft, for all her other gifts. There, I could not only outdo her, but outshine her like the sun to a flickering candle. A simple pleasure spell, barely a whisper of my power,” she touched her finger to my chest, and a warm thrill ran though me, gone in an instant, as her finger withdrew, “with your permission, would have been all I needed to kickstart the right thoughts in your thick, stupid, beautiful, brilliant head. But, I had to practice the spells somehow, and… well… I think they’re designed for that, truthfully. To take you to that place, if you have no one to share them with.”  
  
I held her close to me, as she leaned in, rubbing my hand on her back, consolingly. I made sure to keep her cloak firmly closed, all the same.  
  
“And so, in the middle of the night, I went to Blackberry for help once more. A Lich, with her soul properly secured away, has a great deal more control over herself than the average Succubus, than, indeed, the average Mamono, and, once I was aware of the option, as you rightly said, it was no choice at all. So I began to study Necromancy, and shortly after, ‘fell ill’. It was a long process, but with another outlet for the dark energy, I slowed my transformation long enough to get it done. And then, I ‘died’.”  
  
“I’m so, so sorry, Sally.” I said, squeezing her tighter.  
  
“And I, too, am sorry, Lyle, and what a sorry pair we make.”  
  
Despite our closeness, and how our relationship had changed, there was nothing sexual about the way I held her as she cried.  
  
  
  
  
It was some time later that Beeps and Blackberry exited the cave, drawn by the smell of the fire, and the dinner I had started finally approaching completion. Any idiot can make a stew. Not poisoning yourself with the numerous wild natural aphrodisiacs was trickier, admittedly, but I had the knack.  
  
It appeared that Blackberry had been washed after all, though by herself, Faust, Beeps, or some combination, I couldn’t say. Her long, blackened hair had been braided, so she must have been drying it for some time already, at the very least.  
  
Beepatrice looked at me, with Faust having fallen asleep leaning against me, and immediately took charge of the food. I was somewhat relieved. She would turn my meager offering into something worth talking about given a few minutes, perhaps even using only what I’d already gathered. She had a finely tuned sense of taste, her abilities with spices as advanced as everything else she attempted.  
  
I’d prepared a spot earlier for Blackberry, so she could kneel and be nearby me, and I gestured to it. She nodded, happily, and ‘sat down’. I grabbed her hand in mine, the one that wasn’t still slowly comforting Faust, keeping her aware I was near her, that I still cared, even as she slept.  
  
“We can talk, you know.”  
  
Blackberry looked surprised, and shook her head pointing urgently at Faust.  
  
“No, really. We’re more likely to wake that boulder.” I indicated one of the ‘seats’ that was around the fire pit. This area too, had been touched up by Beeps in her masonry rampage, if only slightly. The rocks were much less lumpy and more evenly spaced than they had been when I’d seen them last.  
  
She looked down at me, shyly. “Hi,  _Lyle_.” She said my name like I’d heard some priests speak of the Chief God. Her whole face flushed too, rather than respond straight away, I waited for her to calm down again.  
  
“Hi, Blackberry.” Again, her face lit up, bright red, eyes wide with desire and disbelief. Again, I waited.  
  
“Um… how are you?” She tried, fumbling for normalcy. I made sure to give her another moment before I answered.  
  
“Fine,” I lied, not willing to try anything too complicated yet. Honesty can come later, “yourself?”  
  
“I… uh, I’m… nervous.” Wow. I am shocked. But honestly, after what I just had to talk about, this was… nice. Simple.  
  
“Why?”  
  
“Well, um… you… are my husband, right?”  
  
“I am,” in a manner of speaking. I wasn’t sure it actually counted by Mamono standards until we swapped mana somehow, even if not necessarily via sex, and by human standards, there’s a ceremony, and monsters can’t participate. Officiating it could wait, though.  
  
“What if… what if you don’t like me?”  
  
What? “Why would I not like you?”  
  
“No one ever has before. No one but Sally, I mean. Everyone else runs away.” Okay, great. Simple is gone, we’re back to complicated. Well, at least it’s familiar ground. I should set up a vacation home here.  
  
I let go of her hand, and she flinched, but as I ran my fingers through her bangs, brushing them aside for a better view of her eyes, she smiled, and I grabbed her hand again.  
  
“They were probably just frightened by how pretty you are.” She made a small squealing sound, but we otherwise sat in silence for several minutes.  
  
“You… you mean that?” Depending on how you look at it, it’s not really even a lie, they were worried they’d be tempted, so they ran. So sure, yeah, I guess I do.  
  
What I actually said was, “Of course. I’m terrified of you, myself. But I won’t run. You’re too entrancing.” I made sure to let her watch as my eyes ran up and down her body, slowly. I even lingered on the horse-like parts of her, which I was not currently actually enthused by. I’d probably come around. Hopefully. It’d be a long forever, otherwise.  
  
She was breathing rather heavily, but I was mostly sure she didn’t know what to do with those feelings yet, so as long as I was careful, I should be fine. Her grip tightened on mine, though, her thumb making little heart shapes on the back of my hand. Okay, cute. I smiled up at her.  
  
“Sally… she promised that you’d love all of us… I was so scared. I trust her, but… my family doesn’t like Bicorns… I probably can’t go back.” Oh, sweetheart. “What… what if… you like the others  _more_?” She gets off on sharing me around, but she  _also_  has an inferiority complex. This is  _definitely_  Sally’s fault. Even if I suddenly lost my memory of the last few days, I’d still be able to tell.  
  
“Why would you be worried about that?” Ask questions, Lyle, ask questions and stall, stall, stall.  
  
“Well… I… You kiss them, and…” Uh huh. Okay, that’s fair. But damn it, why now?  
  
“Would you like me to kiss you?”  
  
She wouldn’t look at me, facing away, and making small squeaking sounds, her entire body was flushed bright red. Her human upper body swayed side to side, with her arms clutched to her chest, having taken her hand out of mine without noticing. This went on for a few moments, during which time I disentangled myself from Faust, substituting Beeps in my place, who had taken the stew off the fire. I was a little worried, but Faust, if anything, cuddled up to her more than she had me. I was pretty sure I knew what Blackberry’s answer was going to be, and while I wasn’t eager to leap back into things so soon, it sounded like I couldn’t afford to put this off any more.  
  
A soft “Yes, please,” so quiet I barely heard it over the fire, even listening for it, echoed in the empty night.  
  
As I walked around her, though, she turned away. I moved to get in front of her, and again, she shifted so I couldn’t see her face. Uh huh. Right. Okay. I climbed up, into her saddle. She stopped moving. I put my hands on her shoulders, lightly massaging them, and moved up to her ear, speaking to her from out of her view. Well, heck, it worked once before.  
  
“Why, my dear, sweet love, whatever could be the matter? Didst thou not request a kiss upon thine lips?”  
  
“Dear husband,” she mumbled, barely audible, “you know well that I did, but mine body is still pure. I am not wise to the ways of love, what if I cannot satisfy?”  
  
“But my dear, to kiss is to make poetry with the lips of thine lover, and thy body is the sweetest of sonnets even without mine own embrace to join it. How couldst thou fail where thou hast already succeeded in truth, and without effort?” She shook, and I increased the depth of the massage. This is kind of fun.  
  
“Dear husband,” she said, slightly louder now, “thy words may be true, but what of the taste of mine lips upon thine own? How canst thou seek to savor that upon which only greenery has trod before? Or dost thou eat the grasses of the field with joy in thy heart? That is not thine people’s way.”  
  
“My fated one,” Oh, that one got a little gasp, I’ll have to remember it, “even the grasses of the field taste sweeter than honey, if touched by the precious hooves of the one I adore. How much more, then, would the taste delight me, if I can taste it amongst the flavors of my beloved?”  
  
“Dear husband,” she was much louder now, and I slipped out of the saddle, slowly inching around into her view, still caressing her body with my hands, though gently, “these things thou speak with such conviction, they move me, though I cannot but wonder, canst I move thou the same way, with a mouth so unaccustomed and unruly? How can mine tongue dance the dance of love, when it only fumbles and flounders at the sight of thy body?”  
  
“My destiny,” her whole body twitched, and this time, not away from me, but lightly into my touch, “if thou were to place thy hands upon mine chest, and upon thine own,” she did, though it felt as though she might dart away at any moment, “thou wouldst feel the music of our hearts, our souls, as they beat as one. Our selves are joined, as husband and wife, one creature with two bodies,” that got a huge reaction, which sort of makes sense, since  _she’s_  one creature with two bodies, “and so I tell thee truly, even if thou were to stumble, so too would I, and from our synchronicity, we would forge a new dance, the envy of all who learn of it. But we will not stumble, for thou art my inspiration, and I will be thine strength, guiding you through the dance of love as naturally as breathing.”  
  
“Dear husband,” she turned to face me, and she wasn’t quite shouting, but her voice was projecting, as though we were on stage, and perhaps, in her heart, we were, “if thy mouth’s own skill with words is any forecast of the joys that it can visit upon mine body, then truly our union is blessed, and I will protest no longer!” She grabbed me up, without further warning, and I embraced her in return, as she brought my face level with her own, her eyes filled with tears, and snot running down her face. Ew, but… awwww.  
  
“Dear wife,” she actually sobbed, as I brought our faces closer together, “I offer you the barest taste of our eternity.” Our lips touched…  
  
And she dropped me.

 

-

 

Of course, allowing her to fail now, after my silly boasting had obviously meant the world to her, that was completely unacceptable. She’d never trust herself, or the imaginary version of me in her head, ever again. If I still wanted this to work, I had to take responsibility for my nonsense. But, I’d had a suspicion as to how this was going to go, that was why I’d wrapped my arms around her in the first place. While her grip slipped, my own stayed tight, and I continued the kiss, our lips only lightly touching. I pulled back a little, rubbing my forehead against hers, my hair brushing against her horns, eliciting another small gasp, as I wet my lips with my tongue, and then, again, brought the two of us together.  
  
She slowly sank to her knees, a good thing for me, as using my upper body strength to support this endeavor, while hardly insufficient, made things feel much less effortless. Once my feet were on the ground, I leaned in a little more, which turned out to be a good move, as the next thing to go was her torso as it collapsed boneless against me. She was not a small woman, by any definition, and so supporting her took more effort than I expected. For all her soft appearance, there was quite a bit of muscle hiding underneath, and her frame would have made her a giant, even with only human legs.  
  
With my arms freed up for other pursuits, I resumed the caress I had been using to calm her, running my hands gently down her back, continuing only slightly past where her fur began, and her back began to plateau, and then starting again. If it weren’t for her ragged, heavy breathing, I could almost have believed she’d fallen asleep. I’d expected her instincts to take over at some point, but perhaps the shock of the sensation was simply that overwhelming for her. Or maybe this was normal for a first kiss experience? Did people usually collapse in ecstasy? My own first kiss had been only a few days before, but having lasted nearly seventeen hours, and also being my first sexual experience at the same time, I doubted somehow that I could recognize typical.  
  
Moving my focus back to her, I was somewhat frustrated by her braid, cute though it was. Her hair was by far the longest of the four of us, and being able to run my hands through that as well might have been nice. As I broke the kiss, I settled for merely holding her close to me, placing her hand again on my chest, and so between us, and then synchronizing our breathing so that she could feel my heartbeat match hers once more.  
  
We remained like that for a time, just breathing with each other, her leaning against my shoulder, our necks pressed together, her nearly insensate, weak, frightened, and disbelieving, but myself still undeniably there, real, and staying with her. Eventually, I realized she wasn’t going to recover on her own.  
  
“My wife, I have prepared for you your dinner, and your campfire, and I would now hear these stories you spoke of. Come, share a meal with me.” You might not be able to go home, Blackberry, but I can’t either. None of us can. This is home, now. This is your family, our family, my family. It was going to have to be. I would make it work. I had to.  
  
  
  
Her stories, unsurprisingly, were rather mundane, and honestly boring. Her life had been spent in a forest, with other, similarly sheltered, unicorns, where nothing happened that her mother, or some other maternal figure, didn’t explicitly allow. But, sharing tales of rabbit ‘wrestling’, and colorful birds, and speaking to travelers who only ever screamed and ran, it was all still dreadfully important to her, and I made sure to treat it that way, asking questions to tease out more inane details, and taking note of the important things that slipped out amongst the fluff. Her favorite color was green, ‘like the forest’, her favorite weed to eat was the dandelion, but only before it went to seed, when it still had its color. She liked the sounds of birdsong, but admitted that in the morning, she liked it less, and that she was frustrated that the birds refused to listen to her requests for a lazy morning once in a while.  
  
Faust had been woken when it was time to eat, mostly for social reasons. She’d been fed earlier, after all. She still sipped at her soup, for the flavor, but left most of it to Blackberry and me. She had much less patience for Blackberry’s stories than I did, but she’d likely heard them before, too, perhaps many times. She was reading a book she’d brought out from the cave, the firelight apparently enough for her eyes to see by. Her reaction to Beepatrice being in my place when she awoke had been rather cute.  
  
“Oh, Lyle… you’re all curvy~” she’d said, rubbing her hands all over Beeps, as she groggily came to unlife, “I think I like it~”  
  
“Desist.”  
  
That was when she fell of the rock. I tried very hard not to laugh, but I failed, and I paid for it as she chucked the loamy dirt at me, from her position on the ground.  
  
“How could you do this? Our first night together, soiled?! Lyle, you fiend!”  
  
She’d calmed considerably when I pulled her aside to explain the situation with Blackberry, and how things had played out. I think she even grudgingly approved. I was, however, volunteered to cuddle in bed, with no objections allowed, and Beepatrice had to watch. She didn’t sleep anyway, so I’d said that was fine, so long as she could stop any attempts to move beyond cuddling. Faust had scowled, but accepted when I pressed her.  
  
Now, she was reading, but, I suspected, also studiously ignoring Beepatrice, and sneaking glances when no one was looking. Certainly, I saw her blush a few times, much more obvious on her deadened skin. Actually, I wonder, how does that even work? Blushing is just blood flowing to the face, right? Do Liches do that? If they do, why are they cold? Isn’t blood pumping what keeps us warm? Maybe it’s just that blushing can be sexy, or cute, or what have you, and so Mamono magic lets her do it anyway? …But that’s such a lame answer.  
  
“Hey Faust? Why are you blushing?”  
  
Her head snapped up at me, outraged, “Wha-?” a sharp exhale, “Lyle, I am  _not_  blushing.”  
  
“No, you are. But that’s not what I meant. I know  _why_ , I guess, I meant more like…  _how_  are you blushing? Like, how does that work?”  
  
Her glare lightened slowly as her expression turned more thoughtful. She lifted her hand to her cheek, and surprise flashed across her face. “Lyle… I am blushing. How can I be blushing? It is even bringing warmth to my skin. How does that work?”  
  
Woman, you can’t ask me the question I just asked you and expect me to have an answer for it. That’s cheating. How am I supposed to know? Didn’t you study all of this stuff?  
  
I just shrugged at her, helplessly.  
  
“We will have to study this when we get a more permanent laboratory set up. These are the kinds of questions no one is asking, Lyle! I must know the answer! We will find it, together!” She was, standing, now, shouting.  
  
“Yeah!” Blackberry shouted too, probably just happy to be included in ’we’. She didn’t strike me as the ‘experiments’ type.  
  
“So, you want me to embarrass you… for science?” Faust’s eyes widened, “because I’m totally alright with that. Maybe that can be the subject of our next family story time.” Blackberry let out a small squeal when I said ‘family story time’. I guess she was happy with how I’d handled it so far.  
  
Faust seemed less pleased with the idea, though. “Lyle no.”  
  
Lyle yes. Taking the power back, one embarrassing memory at a time. I’ll have to start working on my delivery. I just smiled at her, innocently. She shuddered.  
  
  
  
The ‘bed’ that Faust had set aside for the two of us, it had turned out, was basically just a pile of hay. Admittedly, there was a woven mat on the top of the pile, but that didn’t make the situation any more appealing to me. I was not about to complain, though. It was pretty clear to me that Faust must have been sleeping here since she ‘died’, nearly two weeks ago. To whine about a single night with someone to hold in a cave that had been much improved, when she’d been alone on a pile of straw with no one to even talk to, let alone to keep her warm, that would be way too insensitive.  
  
Crawling into that pile of hay, though, was harder than it first seemed. When either of us got onto the mat first, it bent and deformed around us, making it basically impossible for the other to get properly settled in. Faust was getting more and more frustrated as her dreams of a cute night together became increasingly delayed and unlikely.  
  
Finally, I said, “What if we just… run at it, and jump into the air? Like, grab hold of each other in the air, both hit it at once, and sleep where we land?”  
  
Faust looked at me with narrow eyes, trying to suss out whether or not I was joking.  
  
“It’ll probably go horribly wrong, but… it might work, right?”  
  
“And if you hit your head on the wall of the cave?” Yeah, okay. Good point.  
  
“Okay, then… let’s lift the mat up onto its end, stand next to it, and just… fall over.” So we did. It was less fun than flying through the air might have been, but I didn’t hit my head. Success.  
  
Then we realized we forgot the blanket.  
  
“…Beeps?” After a few moments, the blanket settled down on us perfectly, on the first try. Sometimes I wondered what she thought of us, fumbling around helplessly.  
  
“Thanks, Beeps.”  
  
“Goodnight.”  
  
“Night.”  
  
Faust seemed a little grumpy about Beepatrice’s help, but I snuggled up against her a little tighter, clothes still covering both our bodies, and that seemed to be all the distraction she needed, a small, silly grin spreading over her face as she looked at me next to her.  
  
“Goodnight Beepatrice, goodnight Faust, goodnight  _Lyle_.” Oh boy.  
  
Faust smiled, though. “Goodnight Blackberry, goodnight Beepatrice, goodnight Lyle.”  
  
“Goodnight girls.” Faust frowned, and poked me in the stomach. “Ow. …Goodnight Faust, goodnight Blackberry, goodnight Beepatrice.”  
  
“Goodnight.” Thank God for you, Beeps. Brevity is the soul of-  
  
“Goodnight.” Oh lord. Why Beeps?  
  
“Goodnight.”

 

-

 

The first indication something was wrong was the way the grass had been cut short, we’d only just left the forest, but we were still in the wilds. Since we’d been avoiding actual pathways, the road into the demonic realms had been quite boring. I wasn’t awake when the packing had been going on, in fact, when I woke up, we were already on the road. Faust simply never stopped cuddling with me, electing instead to levitate around with me in her grasp, eking out every inch of time together that she could. Since she wasn’t trying to do more than cuddle with me, Beepatrice couldn’t interject. She hadn’t been happy about that. Situations like that one were why I tried to avoid ordering her around directly. She was more than capable of making the right decisions on her own for the most part. Still, waking up in Faust’s embrace was… kinda nice.  
  
Either way, I’d been riding in Blackberry’s saddle since I woke up. I’d considered riding in the cart, but not doing so left space for Beeps and Faust, if they got tired. Well, if Faust got tired. Heh. Dead tired.  
  
“There haven’t been any flowers in a while… I miss them. I’m a little hungry.” That was Blackberry, of course.  
  
“Yes, I too had noticed that the area seems a bit too well maintained.” Faust replied, “Perhaps there are deer or some such nearby?”  
  
“It would have to be an awfully hungry deer. Or like, a hundred of them. I don’t see any tracks, either.” Tracking deer was something most villagers had to be able to do, and quickly. The more time you spent out in a forest hunting deer, the more likely you weren’t coming back. Or worse, that you’d bring something else back after you.  
  
As we crested the hill, we saw our first  _sign_  that something was wrong. More accurately, the sign said; “Do you like hugs? Free hugs ahead!”  
  
“Okay, slow down Blackberry.” She slowed to a stop, and I got down to take a closer look at the sign. It was made of wood, and painted white, with thick, black, lumpy lettering. “Faust, what do you make of this?”  
  
She floated over, scraping some of the paint off with her fingernails. She ground it between her fingernails, before tasting it. “Hmm. Homemade.”  
  
Uh, what? You can tell that by tasting it?  
  
She continued, “The wood, I suspect, is from the forest nearby. Plain wood, not the best tree for the job, nor was the lumber cured properly. You can see the sign has warped in the rain.” It was true, it was kind of wobbly looking. “The sign has been here for some time, but the paint is much more fresh. It would have faded exposed to the elements long ago were it not reapplied. I’d wager the creature is still nearby.”  
  
“Creature?”  
  
“Honestly, Lyle. Do not tell me you still believe it to be an ‘awfully hungry deer’. Nor, I hope, do you hold the suspicion in your heart that the Order has changed tactics to that of friendship and sharing. No, this is Mamono work.”  
  
“Right, yeah.”  
  
“Moreover, the simple existence of the sign narrows the field considerably. We are dealing with a simple, friendly, non-threatening type. Perhaps naïve. Large enough to make a sign like this, and familiar enough with humans to think of the idea, yet living in the wilderness. A beastman type? And yet, most beastmen are unlikely, as you would need delicate fingers to fashion something of this nature. Combined with the coloration of the sign and lumpiness of the lettering, along with the shortness of the grass… A Holstaur. Almost certainly.”  
  
Oh. Okay. When you lay it out like that, it makes a lot of sense, I guess. “Couldn’t some of that be coincidence, though?”  
  
“Trick.” Beeps offered.  
  
“True, it’s hardly conclusive, I suppose. It matters not. We should avoid her.” What? Why?  
  
“Weren’t we sort of looking for a Holstaur, though?”  
  
“Unattractive.” Beepatrice again.  
  
“Precisely, Beepatrice, perceptive as always. Regardless of my interest in Holstaurs, Lyle,” Did you just admit this was all about your interests, Faust? “any creature driven to this level of pathetic desperation when they ought to be so desirable is likely diseased or worse. Not a worthwhile candidate.”  
  
So cold, Faust. That’s a person you’re talking about, you know? It wasn’t that long ago  _you_  were that desperate, right? Somehow I doubt bringing that up is a great way to convince her, even so.  
  
“I  _like_  hugs, though.” I doubt that’ll work either, Blackberry, but good effort.  
  
“Me too.” I said, stubbornly. I hugged the Bicorn, in demonstration. She giggled.  
  
“…I like kisses, too, Lyle.” Uhuh. Why does that not surprise me?  
  
“Me too, Blackberry.” I got on my tiptoes, as she leaned down, and I kissed her cheek. She nearly fell over. But only nearly. Look at you go, girl.  
  
Faust was having none of it, though. “Lyle, we cannot help this creature, whomever it may be.”  
  
“You don’t know that.” I crossed my arms. “Maybe she just needs a bath.”  
  
Faust sighed. “Ly-le.”  
  
“There’s nothing wrong with talking to her, Faust.” I took a step past the sign… and was promptly dragged back, up into the air by invisible force.  
  
“Lyle, this is for your own good. I will not allow you to… Glk” That was as far as she got, before Beepatrice shoved her gun barrel right up underneath Faust’s jaw.  
  
“Faust… I am not your toy. Put me down.” She did, though slowly. “Okay, Beeps, let her go.” Beepatrice was not slow to respond, but her gun remained trained on Faust. “Beeps, honey. Please.” The barrel dropped.  
  
“Lyle, Sally, Beeps, please don’t fight…” Blackberry’s hands were clutched up under her chin, and she shifted from hoof to hoof, uncomfortably.  
  
“Don’t worry, Blackberry, sweetheart, we’re done.” I walked up to Faust, whose fists were clenched, and she avoided my eyes. “Hey, Faust.” I ran my fingers lightly across her cheek. My fingers traced across wet streaks running down her face.  
  
“Beepatrice, can you take Blackberry out and find her some flowers, please? I think Faust needs a minute.” Beepatrice didn’t respond, not even a nod, merely moving to fulfill my order. That was a decent sign she wasn’t impressed with it. Tough luck. Don’t like, it? Ignore the order. You’ve got the authority. But she didn’t. She went.  
  
As I waited for them to leave, I slowly moved closer and closer to Faust, three feet between us, then two, then one, then our feet were touching, between each other. I waited until she leaned into me to start talking, to wrap my arms around her.  
  
“You can’t own me, Faust, I won’t let you. I’m always going to fight you like this. We’ll always disagree. But… food doesn’t disagree. You can own food. I don’t want to be just food, Faust. Not ever. But it’s not my choice. Not really.  _You_  have to choose. If your magic is half as strong as I think it is, you could break my mind in two with just a wave of your hand, couldn’t you? Beeps might be able to take me from you, and keep me to herself, but I’d never recover, would I?” She squished her face harder into my chest, rubbing back and forth, sniffling.  
  
“I just sent Beeps away. She won’t be back for a while, she has to take Blackberry with her, and it’s a five-minute walk back to the last flowers I remember. You could pick me up, run away, and she might never find us. I can’t stop you, Sally.” She sobbed, gripping me tighter, pulling, clutching. It hurt, a little. “All I can do is trust you. It’s hard, it’s terrifying. It’s the scariest thing I’ve ever done. But, I do trust you… Because I love you, Faust.”  
  
  
  
The next few minutes were so intense I couldn’t remember them, not a single moment of them. But… when I came back to myself, Faust and I were still in the field, still on the hilltop, still near the sign. In fact, we were just past it. I smiled a little. Faust wouldn’t let something like that slip by her, noticing when she did that stuff was a huge part of dealing with her. As for Faust, she was cross-legged on the ground, and I was sitting in her lap, looking up at her, cradled in her arms. My lips still tasted like hers. It was rapidly becoming one of my favorite sensations.  
  
“Aww… You two are so cute!” Blackberry said, as she trotted up, she’d put several flowers into her braided hair, half decoration, half snack storage. Clever. Beepatrice was actually riding in her saddle.  
  
“Welcome back, my love,” Faust said, though whether she was speaking to Blackberry, or was acknowledging I’d come back to my senses was left ambiguous. Heck, she might have even meant Beeps, although I was really doubting it.  
  
“I love you too, Faust!” At least one of us was sure who she was talking to, “I wish your lap was bigger… Lyle looks comfy.” Admittedly, I  _was_  pretty comfy.  
  
I still stood up, though. “Yeah, it’s pretty nice. But now that you’re back, we need to get moving again. Sadly.” I ran my finger up Faust’s spine as she stood, causing her to shiver.  
  
“Success.” Beeps reported, but the way she looked at me made it clear it was also a question.  
  
“Looks like it,” I replied. “Since when do you know how to ride?”  
  
Faust scoffed.  
  
“Natural.” Oh right. You’re an effortless superhuman. She didn’t hop down, though, so I climbed up, sitting in front of her.  
  
“Faust? There’s room for you up here too, if we’re careful.”  
  
“No, I think I shall take the lead. After all, it is I who knows where we are headed.” She’d been very mysterious about that. Apparently, wherever we were going, it was a huge deal. She had something worked out with a local monster Queen already, although how that could be was beyond me.  
  
Either way, she started walking towards the next sign, barely visible in the distance. Blackberry let out a little squee when she saw we were heading that way, and followed along. Riding with Beeps was much different than Faust. With Faust, I was the one ensuring we stayed on, but Beeps had a balance unrivaled, and so I simply leaned back into her, letting out a soft sigh. She started to massage me as we rode, which was honestly just the best. I was so spoiled.  
  
  
  
Each sign led us to the next with a little arrow, we passed probably four more before we came upon a small box with a sleeping Holstaur in it, causally overflowing outside the comically small container, only her feet, her hooves, really  _in_  the box. Printed on the side was; ‘Free, to a good home’.  
  
But Faust was right, something was off. I mean, besides this whole situation and everything surrounding it. Something  _else_  was off.  
  
“She’s  _flat,_ ” Faust said, in horrified fascination.  
  
“…Yeah,” I said, more than a little shocked myself. I turned to look at the Lich, “Listen, Faust… I know that’s basically everything nobody wants in a Holstaur… but we can’t leave her here. Look at her. She’s exhausted, her clothes are dirty and torn… She’s here in the middle of nowhere living in the most, um, earnest… box I’ve ever seen. How long has she been out here?”  
  
“She’s still sleeping, we could just go, Lyle, and her feelings would be unhurt. If we take her with us, you know that we will end up letting her into our hearts.” Faust replied, looking unmoved, except that she was inching away from the girl, ready to flee. When she saw I wasn’t following, she sighed, and continued, “It’s milk, Lyle, Holstaur  _Milk._  And where does the milk come from, Lyle?”  
  
My eyes hardened. I felt a flash of anger come over me. “Her milk, is it? I understand perfectly, Faust. We’ll just leave her here to rot, then. Not like it matters.  _She’s just food_.” I spat the last few words out with a vehemence I rarely felt, let alone expressed. I knew, in that moment, that I’d already decided to love this girl, no matter what, without knowing anything else about her. A little shallow, maybe, but she deserved that kind of shallow in her life for once. Judging by how we’d found her, her life had been full of only the other sort, so far.  
  
“That… That’s not what I… but…” Faust was looking at me like she’d never seen me before. She hung her head. “I’m sorry, Lyle. I…”  
  
I looked away. “Beeps, load her up in the cart. Bring her box. Do a quick run around, see if you can spot anything else she might want to keep.”  
  
Beepatrice hopped down off Blackberry, and carefully secured the sleeping Holstaur in the cart. The box was unfolded into a flattened state and slid into the back, before Beeps took off at a barely visible sprint, jumping high into the air to get a better view of the area. She came back, a few minutes later, not holding anything. That’s so  _sad._  
  
Well, not any more.

 

-

 

Morningwood,  _the_ center of Mamono art and culture, sat barely a mile away. Every type of entertainment was produced there, all with an erotic bent, from paintings, to books, to episodic dreams, everything flowed from the streets of Morningwood, and Faust had gotten us in. Somehow. I’d heard whispers of this place, back in the village, ‘a den of depravity’, ‘the streets of sin’, ‘surprisingly okay once you got past all the porn’, though admittedly that last young man had disappeared by the end of that week, so his word on the matter was suspect.  
  
I could hardly believe we were staring at it. It felt like we’d been walking forever, though it had actually been only two days since we left the cave, and only a few hours since we’d picked up our latest passenger.  
  
Speaking of which, it was about time she woke up. We couldn’t exactly head into the city with a girl we’d never even spoken to, and the atmosphere around here had been a little sullen since she’d been found.  
  
“Blackberry, let’s stop here. We need to talk to our friend back there before we go any further.”  
  
Nobody said anything, and that had been the case for a while. Someone would speak, try to start a conversation, but nobody else was quite ready for one reason or another. Some of us were angry, some of us were afraid, some of us disappointed in ourselves, and some of us were Beepatrice.  
  
I slid down off of Blackberry, hitting the ground with a quiet thud. I grabbed a stick from the ground, and started tapping on the Holstaur girl’s exposed shoulder. It was so weird that they really did have black and white hair on their heads. It looked so strange.  
  
“Hey, wake up.” No response. “Hey, uh… hey Free. Free, wake up.” Poke poke. “Hello?”  
  
She stirred, finally, and I backed off, tossing the stick aside. She bolted upright, looking around, nervously, breathing fast, making squeaking sounds. She made eye contact with me, and her hands flew to her face, hiding her eyes, playing around with something obscured by her bangs.  
  
I finally got a good look at her. She was tall, but shrunk in on herself to seem somewhat smaller, especially when sitting, she was built like a dancer, a swimmer, a runner, or a quick-moving fighter. Her wide, innocent blue eyes held no confidence, and more than a little fear. From what I could see of the, anyway, as her black and white hair, chin length, with long bangs, partially covered them. She had cute freckles, especially on her nose and cheeks, and stunning eyelashes. She had tiny horns, as well, and a much shorter, smaller tail than is usual for her species, from what little I’d seen of them. What little exposed skin she had was lightly tanned, likely from a life outside, and she sported freckles across her body as well. The face of a shrinking violet, but the body of a life-long athlete.  
  
She wore accessories, likely to seem more cow-like, from the standard cow-print bra, panties and a cowbell, to the more unusual nose ring and a tag in one of her cow-like ears. She was also wearing a large, thickly knitted, frumpy cow-pattern sweater, which did nothing to hide her flat chest, given how large Holstaur usually are. She had a blue jean messenger bag, sized to fit a folded up cardboard box, monogrammed with happy grazing cows and the word 'Moo', and a short skirt of the same material, which left access open in the front, covering only her thighs, legs, and tragically flat ass.  
  
“Hey, hey! It’s okay, it’s okay! We found you in a field. We can take you back there if you want, but we’re about to head into the city, at least let us get you washed up, get your clothes patched.” Her hands slowly moved away from her head, and I had a view of her eyes again. They were watery, and she was blinking, trying to get them clear. “Are you okay? We found you passed out in a box, and, well, we weren’t one hundred percent sure you were alright… Do you need a doctor?”  
  
“N.. no…” she said, and her voice was small, quiet, but surprisingly deep.  
  
“Well… would you like to get cleaned up? Like I said, we can take you back, if you want… but from what I understand, there’s a house waiting for us in Morningwood. We can get you washed up, fed, and back on your feet. You can stay as long as you need. Your box said, uh, ‘free, to a good home’, right? I haven’t seen the place yet, but I’m hoping it’s gonna be great.”  
  
Her eyes went wide, and she stood up suddenly, falling over in her haste to get out of the cart. As she got back to her feet, she was smiling, but it was small, scared, shy. She looked like she wanted something but I honestly had no idea what. One of her hands inched back up, towards her forehead. It wasn’t her horns… those were on the side of her head. What was she reaching for…?  
  
“Are you okay? You don’t have to stay with us if you don’t want… We, uh, brought your box, so it wouldn’t blow away. You can still leave if you want to…”  
  
She shook her head, back and forth, in a panic, the bell at her neck ringing.  
  
“Then… what is it? I don’t understand.” I  _also_  don’t understand how a girl like this was brave enough to put herself in a box marked ‘free’ in the center of a bunch of ‘come hug me’ signs. What was going on?  
  
For just a moment, I saw a spark of… something… in her eyes. Was it courage? Determination? Fear, of going back to where she’d been? Whatever it was, it motivated her to put both hands to her forehead, pulling something down from under her bangs, and over her eyes.  
  
Her hands had her face almost entirely covered, but I could see some kind of leather band, reaching from one side of her head, over her ears, around the back of her head through her hair, and connecting again at the other side of her face. Whatever it was she was hiding, it was secured pretty tightly.  
  
She’d started to make odd… noises. Her left hoof was scraping against the ground, and she was snorting, like a stallion, or perhaps a bull, about to charge. She was shaking, violently, and as I watched, her posture changed from small and frightened to large, and intimidating, though still hiding her eyes. I’d known she was tall, but I hadn’t realized she had to be more than  _seven feet_  tall. Not larger than Blackberry, but not for lack of trying. She might not have been extremely muscular in the traditional sense, but I got the idea, as she flexed, that she was still quite strong when it mattered, and gracefully dangerous.  
  
Her hands finally left her eyes, down to her sides in a quick motion, though not inhumanly fast. I saw then, what she’d been hiding. Some kind of large, cushioned glasses were secured around each eye, the lenses shaped to cover as much of her vision as possible, even bent at the edges to get more coverage as it closed the gap between lens and face, covering her entire field of view but for the cushioning keeping them in place. The peculiar thing about the lenses, though… I’d never seen anything like them. They were tinted  _red_.  
  
“ **Haha! I knew if I believed with all my heart someday the fates would bless me!”**  Her voice, while not loud, precisely, boomed through my body like an explosion, or the call of a wildcat. I took a step back. “ **And what a handsome specimen! Tell me, kind stranger, I would know the name of my rescuer!”**  
  
Uh. What.  
  
“ **Struck dumb, are you?! It was my overwhelming charm, no doubt! What about you?! The fetching beauty from beyond the grave?! Tell me, fair maiden, what is your name?!”**  
  
I looked to Faust as she did, and, as had been the case in recent days, did not find my salvation from idiocy there, for where before stood my sullen friend, now stood a deadly predator.  
  
“Oh?” Faust asked, and there was something in her tone that worried me… something that matched the madness of the woman I’d just awoken, “You speak to me? The Master of Death? The Beguiler of Men? The Sorceress Supreme? Tell me, fool, who are you to ask for my name? I am the thing which all men fear!”  
  
If anything, the Holstaur looked even more excited at that reply. “ **I see! A foul creature you may be, but no evildoer can stand before the might of Fran Tastic without fear!”**  
  
Faust drew herself up, gathering her… whatever-this-was-ness together in reply, “I see… Well, Fran Tastic, you sad little thing, you will find I am a creature in a league of my own! You stand no chance of securing my beloved for yourself!” She took a dramatic step forward, her hands crackling with energy-  
  
“Woo! You tell her, Sally!” Blackberry shouted, clapping excitedly.  
  
“What?!” Faust turned to Blackberry, briefly confused. She’d forgotten we were here. “No, Blackberry, darling, I changed my name, remember dear?”  
  
“Oh yeah. Sorry.”  
  
“It’s fine. Now hush, my sweet, I am speaking to my  _nemesis_.” The word nemesis was said with a delight not befitting my understanding of its definition.  
  
As this had been happening, uh… Fran, I guess, watched and waited politely, not interrupting, but never losing her aura of powerful presence, despite her stillness.  
  
“Ahem.” Faust settled back into place nearly perfectly, her foot in mid dramatic stride, her hand halfway to pointing towards Fran and myself, black and purple lightning arcing once more over her body, “You stand no chance of securing my beloved for yourself! Tremble before me! For I am F̸̡A͜U҉S̶͜T͡! ͢͏V͠O̧̢͡Ņ!̨ F̨͘R̛͢A̧͝͠N̷Ķ̛Ȩ̨N͠S͝T̸̕͘E͡I͘͟N҉͝!͏͜” Thunder boomed as the lightning leapt from her body, striking the ground nearby, giving the impression of electric wings as her head once more caught flame.  
  
“ **An intimidating show of force, yet Fran Tastic has never once run from a battle, and she shall not let this day be the first! I shall defeat you, monster, in unarmed combat, and secure the love of my rescuer!”** She started to run at Faust, and Faust matched her, they leapt at each other in the air, meeting in roughly the middle, though I knew Faust was much faster than she seemed to be moving at the moment. That she was clearly holding back was the only reason I hadn’t called on Beeps to attack Fran. Well, that and that I obviously had no idea what the hell was happening.  
  
The two wrestled on the ground, rolling and tossing, throwing one another off only to scramble back on, moving slowly downhill towards the town. Eventually, Faust got a hold that Fran couldn’t seem to break, or… didn’t seem to be trying too hard to break…? Oh. OH.  
  
“Hey Blackberry let’s go find some flowers for our new friend I bet she’s hungry I saw some that looked good back that way let’s go,” I said, all in one breath, as fast as I could. I dragged her back down the hill the other way, far away from the bizarre mess that was unfolding over there.  
  
“Wait, Lyle, I want to make sure Faust is okay. She smelled funny, and she was breathing pretty hard. I think I can hear her screaming!”  
  
“She’s fine, trust me. Beeps will watch over her, make sure she’s alright, won’t you Beeps?”  
  
“Affirmative.”  
  
“See, even if Faust gets hurt, Beeps can patch her right up. Let’s go get some flowers. Beeps will let us know when they’re done… um. When they’re done.”  
  
“Okay, Lyle, if you say so…”

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you enjoyed. If you can think of a website where this might do well, let me know.


	3. 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I told you it was nearly done. I just got lazy. It's been finished on QQ for a couple months now. I'm a little disappointed you can't choose your font on AO3, I used that heavily for a character introduced in this chapter. I had to replace it with strikethrough, and it just isn't the same. It's also a pain in the butt, so there's that too.

It turned out that ‘Fran Tastic’, much like Faust von Frankenstein, was a fake name. Not shocking. Somewhat more surprising was that the Holstaur actually went by her original name when she wasn’t wearing her ‘goggles’. Her name was Amy, apparently. I was certain there was never going to be any confusion regarding that whatsoever.  
  
Blackberry had taken Amy under her wing immediately, which was kind of adorable. As both of them were, uh… farm Mamono, I wasn’t too surprised they were getting along, but I had the vague suspicion that was monster racist. What  _was_  surprising was seeing Blackberry as the assertive one in a relationship. She peppered Amy with questions about all sorts of things.  
  
“Oh! Oh! And! And, what’s your favorite flower to eat?” Blackberry asked, her face bare inches from Amy’s as the giant Holstaur did her best to make herself look small and uninteresting.  
  
“I… uh… I like dandelions…” Amy practically whispered.  
  
Blackberry squeaked as she drew in a deep breath. “This. Is. Very. Important. Yellow? Or white?” Blackberry asked, quivering with excitement, her hands clenched in fists, fingers squirming, hiding her mouth as she held them close to her face.  
  
“Um… yellow?” Amy asked, cowering.  
  
“Me! Too! This is the best!” Blackberry picked Amy up in what I was beginning to think was her signature hug, and then began to trot around the field in circles with the poor girl in her arms. “And! You like hugs, too! So do I!”  
  
Amy, surprisingly, seemed very happy with being treated like an overgrown doll, and returned the hug with startling ferocity in her arms, even if the rest of her body language remained meek. When Blackberry set her back down, she seemed almost disappointed.  
  
“Okay, so! You like dandelions! Check.” Blackberry said, pacing back and forth, and effort which seemed much more laborious for her, when she needed to coordinate her entire body turning around. “What about napping in the grass? My favorite is the springy kind, but most of my sisters like the pokey kind, because it let them scratch their bellies without asking for help. Which do you like?”  
  
“Uh… Soft? I like soft grass the best…” Amy said, unsure, “but that wasn't an option... can I still choose that one?”  
  
But Blackberry wasn’t listening, because she had flopped down on to the ground.  
  
“Soft! It’s soft! Lyle, Sally, Beeps! The grass is soft! Try it!”  
  
Faust looked at me, “Lyle, I will not lay down in that mess when there could be a spider’s nest anywhere within it. You must be the one to do it.”  
  
I turned to Beeps.  
  
“…Disinclined.” Beeps admitted. She gestured to her exposed gears. Yeah, okay.  
  
I thought for a moment, and smiled mischievously, before walking towards Blackberry, laying down and cuddling up to her barrel.  
  
“Oh, wow,” I said, “this,” and I leaned in, pressing my back into the underside of her body, rubbing against her fur, “ _is_  really soft, Blackberry. Do you think we should stop for a nap?” I faked a yawn, “I mean, I’m a little tired.”  
  
Amy covered her mouth to hide a small, shy smile as Blackberry spluttered, trying to come up with intelligible sounds as my body shifted against hers. I ‘cruelly tortured’ her a few moments more, before standing back up. I heard a soft; “no, wait” behind me, but I ignored it for now. She’d ask to cuddle again later no doubt; hopefully sometime I could indulge her more thoroughly.  
  
It was a few minutes’ walk later before the next question arrived, but arrive it did. “Hey, Amy? Have you ever… did you ever… I mean, with your hooves… Haveyoueverclimbedatree?” She asked, all in one breath, barely squeezing it out.  
  
“…Yes? I… like some fruits… that are best picked… that way…” Amy said, haltingly, and she sounded confused. She didn’t know where this was going. She didn’t know Blackberry like I did.  
  
“…Can you teach me?” Mhmm. “Pretty please? I’ve… never been able to do it…” Blackberry sounded genuinely ashamed, as though it were her technique at fault, as though there were some secret trick to getting a horse up a tree in a normal manner and she was the only one who’d failed to figure it out.  
  
Amy was at a loss for words, and it seemed to me to be the perfect time to rescue her from this avalanche of questions before she had to break Blackberry’s little heart.  
  
“So, Amy?” Amy turned to me, relieved, before remembering she was terrified of me and looking down at the ground, “Have you ever been to Morningwood?”  
  
“Ah… Yes… they… know me there.” Uh oh. That sounded like a lie of omission to me.  
  
“They know you… or they know  _Fran_?” I asked, concerned.  
  
“Uh… well… as long as you vouch for me… it should be okay…” Yep. You’re a public nuisance, aren’t you? There’s going to be people coming out of the woodwork.  
  
“We’ve got your back, Amy, don’t worry.”  
  
“Yeah!” Blackberry chimed in, “Lyle will help you! You’re his wife, now!”  
.  
.  
.  
  
I devolved into a coughing fit, and Amy flushed bright red, luckily there were no reflective surfaces in sight. “W..Wife?!”  
  
Blackberry gave her a ‘sly’ side-eye. “Yep, wife! You two… are married!" she proclaimed, "Don’t think I missed you holding hands earlier! I know how this all works.” I  _really_  don’t think you do, sweetie. She did something with her face that was probably meant to be waggling her eyebrows. She just looked silly.  
  
I hid my face in my hands.  
  
“He’s so cute when he’s embarrassed by how worldly I am!” Blackberry said, proudly.  
  


 

-

  
  
  
There was no wall around Morningwood, no guard patrol, no particular entry point at all. It was starkly different to every city I’d ever seen in the pure world, but why wouldn’t it be? Any woman who walked into that place human certainly wouldn’t leave that way, and they were all but begging for men to come inside. There was no reason to restrict travel at all. Every variety of illicit good in the pure world could be freely bought or traded for, in some cases, it was passed out at no cost, simply to maintain the atmosphere.  
  
The streets were simply too much to take in without getting separated from the group, something I absolutely couldn't afford, since Blackberry had infused me with her mana during our first kiss a few days prior. I apparently smelled delicious, so I had to stay focused, stay near Faust and the others, who could keep me from another marriage before I was ready. As a result, most of the sights went unseen as we passed through the enormous thoroughfare. There would be time to explore later.  
  
The place we stopped in front of was a beautifully constructed single story home, ornate amongst even the ornate, set apart from the other residences with a small fence, and shockingly close to the palace. It was perhaps three times the size of my simple home back in the village. But that had just been myself and Beeps. How was this going to work?  
  
“I will have to remember to send thanks to Queen Twinkle Star for our accommodations. They are every bit as lovely as they were when she sent me the dreams of them. She has been beckoning me here for ages.” That explained how they’d been in contact, at least, but how did Faust know any kind of Queen? “Perhaps we will meet her for dinner one day soon, Lyle. I would love to introduce you.”  
  
When I asked her how this could be, her response was surprisingly simple, if shocking.  
  
“I am actually one of the founding Mamono involved in Morningwood, technically. Now that I  _am_  a Mamono, anyway. I was responsible for suggesting the idea to Twinkle Star back before its founding. She came upon me disposing of some of my failed creations in the woods, back when I was putting my efforts towards impressing you with gifts of all manner of shape. The sincerity of their creation made them succulent to her, for she is a Leanan Sidhe, a devourer of art. There was not much art to be had in the forest, she was starving, but quite friendly, and so I suggested to her this plan. 'Go forth and find the artists among the Mamono, gather them together to hone their craft, and consume their best works as tithe for your efforts in organizing them.' What began as a small cabal of artists rapidly grew into a powerful city-state, and so my chance encounter created a Queen.”  
  
I stared, open mouthed. I was having trouble processing all of this. I’d have thought I was hallucinating if I hadn’t been asleep multiple times since my life began to devolve into a slew of utter nonsense at the edges of belief.  
  
“I believe there is even a statue of myself and her on that day around here somewhere, though we have both grown considerably since then. Her diet of only the best the world of erotic art has to offer has made her quite a bit larger than her species normally is, but her husbands mind not at all.”  
  
“Wow.” Faust is kind of amazing. I mean, a week ago, I’d have been worried she’d be executed as a traitor for her actions, so I’m glad she never told me before now, but… Wow.  
  
“And as for your concerns about our housing? And yes, it was plain on your face, my love, as for those concerns… The house is bigger on the inside.”  
  
Bigger on the inside? Faust helped found Morningwood? We’ll probably end up meeting the Queen? I'm not even sure I know what's going on anymore.

 

-

 

The roomy hallway on the other side of the entrance led into a large chamber, filled with comfortable looking furniture of every shape and size, designed to accommodate every conceivable body type, all focused around a central table, with a fire pit built into the middle. The walls were lined with shelves and doors, with paintings, or perhaps windows, leading to impossible vistas, hanging above them both, adding color and personality to the room.  
  
“Each doorway,” Faust said, “is a sort of portal leading to another room, magically affixed to it, much like the door that led us here. Such rooms are very popular in Morningwood, since they allow for the exteriors to be infinitely reimagined without inconvenience, so long as the door frame is unmoved. You will find that the bedrooms,” She gestured to a wall covered in doors, more than I hoped we’d need, “will respond to the first person to grab the handle, shaping themselves to your desires, though the process will take some time to complete, refining as you live there. The rooms will be mostly bare, for now.”  
  
I think my standard of living just shot through the roof. I was sort of excited. Beepatrice looked around the large room, and began walking with purpose towards one of the bedroom doors. Her hand touched the door, and it  _pulsed_. She waited a moment before opening the door. What would her bedroom look like? I was curious, so I scooted closer, carefully, trying to get a view into the room.  
  
I don’t know what I expected, honestly. The room was probably five foot by six, and stocked full with shelves of cleaning supplies and paraphernalia, much of it opaque to me. There was a tool shelf, as well. Up on one of the top shelves, directly opposite the door on the back wall, there were a few pictures that, from a distance, looked like they might be of me and her, even one of the smaller statues she’d made, somehow, or at least a convincing replica. With everything stuffed in there, even if it  _was_ well organized, there was barely enough room for two people to stand side by side with the door shut. It’d be a tight squeeze. She walked in, turned off the light, turned around, said; “Maintenance,” and shut the door.  
  
Right then.  
  
“How does it make all that stuff?” I asked, interested. Maybe I could trick it into making me something really cool?  
  
“There is a warehouse within the city which houses an enormous amount of furniture and such that which Mamono create, but do not use, or do not keep for themselves, for one reason or another. The spell taps into that warehouse, creating a copy here for our use. If you need something you find the rooms do not provide, note it down, and we can create it and have it submitted to the archive. There are some other nuances to the spell, and some functions related to the items themselves, but that is best explored later. For now, simply be satisfied that it works.” Faust said, “Now, if you’ll excuse me, Lyle, I need to begin my own processes.” She approached a door, and, after the flash, quickly slipped inside. Ditched again.  
  
I noticed that while we’d been talking, Amy had apparently ditched me as well, perhaps to get cleaned up, leaving Blackberry and I alone in the room.  
  
I walked with her over to one of the doors, and she looked at me.  
  
“Um, will I fit, do you think?”  
  
“Worth a try, anyway,” I said.  
  
Her room was huge, and grass carpeted the floor, there were a few trees, and I noticed some of them were identical. I supposed there were limits to how many trees it was practical to store in a warehouse. The door shifted to become much larger, so much so that she could walk through it sideways, if needbe. There was a large pile of hay, which Blackberry immediately settled down into.  
  
“I’m going to take a nap, now that we’re here!” She said, though her eyes said something else, and there was special emphasis on the word ‘nap’. She patted the hay, idly. I smiled at her.  
  
We cuddled a bit, but she really was exhausted, and she fell asleep almost right away, with her inability to keep her faculties making it difficult to stay awake. Oh well, we’d have a real cuddle later on.  
  
I left the room, heading to prepare my own. Once I’d passed through my new door, I noticed the room was rather large, with a frankly enormous bed. I turned around. No lock on the door, either. I didn’t hate that, I really understood, but wasn’t this supposed to be  _my_  room? It was then that I noticed a smaller branch room. More of a large closet, there were rods to hang clothes on, but it also had a small bed in it, and that door  _did_  have a lock on it. Fair enough.  
  
Before I could get myself settled in, though, Faust burst into the room.  
  
“Ah, Lyle. Glad I caught you.” She smiled, holding up a golden necklace with a red, almost pink, jewel set as the centerpiece. “Please, wear this to bed, my love. It will bring you pleasant dreams and ensure you are well rested.”  
  
That was thoughtful.  
  
“Thanks, Faust, I was a little nervous about my first night in a new place like this. This house really makes it all real, you know? This is our life, now.” I smiled at her. “I’m glad you’re here with me, Sally.”  
  
“Perhaps, once our rooms are settled, we can spend some  _more_  time together,” she purred, her hand trailing down my arm, “but for now, I must bid you goodnight.”  
  
“Night, Faust.” I walked into my smaller room, and locked the door, crawling under the covers, and settling in. Despite being a new bed, it fit my preferences stunningly well, somewhat firm, tough supportive pillows. If this room really adjusted to be more to my liking the longer I stayed, how much better would the bed be tomorrow night?  
  
I was glad everything had gone so well.

 

-

  
  
Of course, things went wrong the next chance they had. The next morning, I woke up in Faust’s bed, and despite not having yet seen it, I knew it had to be hers, for it was large, black, and the headboard was a mock-tombstone, which read ‘Sally Franks, mostly dead’. Waking up here was more than a little odd. Faust wasn’t in bed with me, for one thing. If she’d kidnapped me to her room in the middle off the night, I doubted she’d have left me here to wake up alone. For another, I distinctly remembered locking my door, and going to sleep in my own bed, so even if she had tried, she shouldn’t have succeeded. My room wouldn’t bother with a lock that was only decoration, if it was there, it ought to have worked.  
  
I looked around the room, drab and grey, it was cold and almost, but not quite, damp. There were beakers and bottles on tables, notes and papers spread across the floor, walls, and other surfaces. Electricity occasionally arced and sparked across strange devises lining the walls, and the whole place practically screamed ‘La-bore-a-tory’ at the top of its lungs to anyone with eyes.  
  
I threw the covers off, they were rather heavy, surprisingly, and rolled over, beginning an attempt to get out of the unfamiliar, if surprisingly comfy, bedroom set, when an obstacle presented itself. Two, actually. A pair of pale, apple-sized breasts were attached to my chest.  
  
“Faust! What did you-” What?! My voice was… her voice. Sally’s voice. Oh no. Faust, what the hell have you done now? Between the two breasts that had halted my progress out of bed, I thought I spied my answer. A necklace, nearly the twin of the one she’d presented to me last night, and bid me wear to bed. The gem inlaid in it was blue, and glowing brightly. Some kind of magic, then. Easily solved, though. I sat up, and lifted my hands… her hands to her chest? No, keep things simple. My hands to my chest, even if only for the moment. All I had to do was remove the necklace and things should go back to normal.  
  
Mmmm… Soft, fleshy, and larger than I remembered them, since I was now Faust’s size, rather than my own, touching her breasts was a delight. “Ahhh~” I ran my hands all over my chest, and when one of my fingers chanced against my nipple, it hardened near instantly, and I changed my focus with both my hands to explore this feeling more closely. The necklace could wait a moment, this bore examination.  
  
My erect nipples had much less give than my breasts, so brushing against them actually shifted the entire mass somewhat, and rather satisfyingly, but it wasn’t quite  _gliding_  right. Ooaaah… Yes… some saliva solved that problem… at least, a little… But… no. It wasn’t enough! My hands inched lower on my body, slowly drawing close to a source of wetness I was sure would satisfy this burning need to-  
  
*clink* *clink*  
  
The jangling of the chain around my neck shook me out of a rapidly escalating situation, and only just in time. I needed to get some clothes on. Surely Faust had had her room prepare some? I knew she only wore that cloak, generally, but she must have something, right? Something to put between my hands and my body, to keep the sensations from calling me back? A quick examination of the room showed me she did not. Whether they were merely hidden at the moment or not was unclear. However, I was able to wrap her blankets around me in a sort of covering. It wasn’t elegant, but I couldn’t feel myself through them, no matter how my fingers roamed when I stopped focusing on them.  
  
I clearly couldn’t be trusted to try to remove that necklace again on my own. I’d have to find Beeps; she would help once I explained what was going on. I opened the door… and was immediately greeted with the sight of my own body, waiting just outside. Recognition took me only a second, but that short window was enough for my body to slip into the room, and lock the door behind it.  
  
“Hello, Lyle, my love,” my body said, and hearing the way it spoke, there was no doubting Faust was the one controlling it. “how are you doing this morning? Feeling well?”  
  
Feeling well? I’m anything but! I’m confused! I’m furious! I’m terrified! “I’m huuuungryyyyyyy,” I whined, my eyes locked onto the lower half of the garment concealing my real body’s skin. My body ached, flushed hot, and pleasure ran across me in waves, coming together at the point closest to… to my? To her? To  _his_  crotch. The effect drove my attention toward it whether I wanted to look or not. And I did want to look. Maybe look a little  _closer_ , actually. I took a step forward, involuntarily.  
  
“I’m sure you are, Lyle, but...” She said, and I immediately felt outrage well up, “only good girls get fed, Lyle, and good girls know to ask first.”  
  
…  
  
Yeah,  _fuck_  that. I leapt at him, clawing at the empty air between us and crying out in the throes of ecstasy. Soon he’d understand, soon he’d feel it too. There was no sense listening to his complaints when I could make them vanish with only a few moments work! My blankets lay forgotten on the floor, as I flew through the air towards my prize.  
  
But that flight was taking an awfully long time, wasn’t it? This feeling of being suspended in the air was familiar… Faust. She was doing this. Where was she?! That bitch! “Faust, put me down! I… I just want to suck his cock for a  _minute_! Only a minute! Faust! Faust, let me go!” I screamed and screamed, wiggling and pushing, desperately, futilely trying to propel my body through the air towards what I needed most. The damndest thing was, I could almost taste it.  **Almost**. His scent hung heavy in the air, it made my mouth water, I knew somehow exactly what that taste was like, every heavenly moment of it. It was as though somebody had built my body from the ground up just for this one, specific man, had tuned it for this one precise sensation. Some incredible genius designing my form for this beautiful, fantastic, delicious man, to satisfy him and  _be_  satisfied  _by_  him. Only him. Was there anything I wouldn’t do just to taste him, to feel him, even just once more?  
  
I rammed my fingers into my pussy, in and out, in and out, one and two at a time, then two and three, hopelessly trying to fill it with a pale imitation of it’s true desire. Coating my hands with my cum, I ran it across my body, searching for that sweet sensation, itching to feel anything like what I somehow knew my body  _could_  feel, if only  _he_  would let me!  
  
“Stop it! Stop it! Come here! I want to make you feel so good! You’re mine! Mine!! Why won’t you listen!?” I threw my hands towards him, slinging my wetness at him in a vain attempt to entice him with whatever I had. When that failed to sway him, I hung there suspended in the air, fingering myself. I let myself get LOUD.  
  
“Aah! Aah! Ooh! Oh my Lord, oh it feels so good! It feels so good! I need more, please?  _Please?_  Just fill me, feed me,  _fuck me_! I promise you you won’t regret it! I’ll make you cum so good~” I’d seen Lesser Succubi try to seduce men, before, although when that had been exactly escaped me at the moment. No matter, I said a grateful word to their memory as I did my best to imitate them, shaking and rolling my hips, testing the edges of my voice with breathy moans and gasps, I acted out every fantasy, touched every inch, begged every way, but nothing moved him.  
  
“Faust, Faust! We can... ah, we can share him! Just help me! Fuuuuck… Hold  _him_  down instead, we’ll take him together! Faust, mmm, Faust please!”  
  
The  **man**  was looking at me with an alarmed expression. But he  _was_  still looking. “Perhaps… perhaps this idea was less clever than I’d initially believed…” Whatever he was babbling about wasn’t important, though. Maybe I could convince him to use his mouth for something else? Something  _better_? It was no cock, but… maybe I could get  _something_  out of it, and who knows? It might be enough to push things along.  
  
“If you aren’t, mmmm, going to fuck me, at least eat me out, you jerk! Ah, ah aaaah… Don’t you know anything about how to treat a lady?” I gave him my best pout, gesturing emphatically to my aching vagina, practically on fire for him.  
  
“…Eat you out? What does that mean, Lyle?” Oh? Such innocence! That's an in! Hehehe, you’re mine, now!  
  
“Well…” I trailed off, putting a musical tone into my words. Layering in a little charm magic. I couldn’t believe I’d forgotten to use that until now. “Have you ever been kissed, cutie?”  
  
“Um, well…” Aww, he’s all flustered. I’ll have to enjoy that while it lasts. “…Yes?” Shame, I’d have loved to take  _everything_  from him. Teach him  _all_ the pleasures I could imagine. Still, not all bad.  
  
“Good, then you know the basics, at least.” I pursed my lips, slipping my tongue out, miming an aggressive technique. “All you really have to do is take what you learned, and use it right…” I bucked my hips lewdly, gesturing with my fingers, outlining and circling my pussy for him. His eyes were locked onto it now. I was nearly certain I had him. Finally. “here~… I’ll wrap my legs around your cute little face, and hey, if you want, we can do it upside down, and I’ll suck your dick while you eat me out! Just a thought! Wouldn’t want it to get lonely down there, think I didn’t care about it.” Oh how I would care for it, just you wait sweetheart. I’ll make you the one who has to beg  _me_. Just you wait.  
  
His eyes, having slowly dilated, finally lost their resistance to my displays. Yessssssss… His head started to follow my every twitch, my every contour, and his breathing started to match the rhythm of my fingers, still pounding away, unceasingly attempting to satisfy my aching emptiness. I could never be enough, by myself, but I was  _finally_  on the right track. I led his eyes around with my body, showing off my curves, as his robe slid off his shoulder, and his roughly sewn pants followed shortly after. I could almost see  **it**. Pressing against the limits of his wrapping, his penis was obviously hard as stone. Good. It’s about time you appreciated my body, I’ve only been begging for you to fuck me, you jerk.  
  
He had an interesting necklace on, though.  
  
“Hey, you might want to take that off too,” I said, no longer worried about distracting him.  **He was mine.**  “chafing is no fun at all, really ruins the mood, and I wanna fuck you  _all_  night.”  
  
He clutched at his chest, following the gesture I’d led him there with, and his eyes suddenly regained their focus! What?! NO!  
  
“No! No! Nononono! Fuck me, you idiot! Fuck me, Lyle! L̶̺̹̺̳̯͖̞̦̣̤͓Y̶̷̨͎̯̯͚̺L̵̲͍̹͇̰͇͉͚̩̹̕͞Ȩ̮͍͇̖̩̰̬͎͖͇̝͔̟̘̕!͜͟͢҉҉͕͍͙̫͉̻͎̘̫̙̱̫̪̥̤͓̥!҉̰̩̥̭̬͕̗͚͔͟” I screamed, but he was beyond my reach again.  
  
The necklace came off, and I blacked out.

 

-

 

I was holding the necklace, staring at Faust, not much more than a shaking pile on the floor. Her body was still responding to the things I’d done to it, and I… I felt… Well, I felt a lot of things. I was angry, at the violation of my body and my trust. I was hideously embarrassed, for obvious reasons. I was worried, because knowing now what she was going through, it was obvious she was starving herself, that  _I_  had been starving her, too. I was scared, because I wanted to slip that  _fucking_  necklace back on, and finish what I’d started, satisfy that urge I’d been ripped away from before I could even learn to appreciate it properly.  
  
Mostly, I was horny.  
  
That one, at least, I thought the two of us could solve. Doing so might help with the others, too.  
  
“Faust.”  
  
She wouldn’t look at me, too busy masturbating, but also avoiding my gaze on purpose, I thought. Well, yeah, you fucked up sweetie, but… Fuck if I could have done any better than you in your situation. I might be furious, but… I can’t actually hold it against you. I’ll calm down, and when I do, things will be mostly alright. But… how do I communicate that to her?  
  
“If you aren’t going to fuck me, at least let me eat you out, you jerk.”  
  
She paused, and looked up at me, eyes glistening, “Oh, Lyle…”  
  
“And hey, if you want, we can do it upside down, and you can suck my cock  _while_  I eat you out. Just a thought.”  
  
She giggled, sniffling. “And if… If I were, by chance, interested in that sort of sickening depravity…?”  
  
Instead of replying, I stalked over to her and picked her up, carrying her to her bed. I threw her down onto the mattress, and not too gently. I  _was_  still a little upset.  
  
“Oh my. Such beastly behavior… Perhaps even… Monstrous…” Oh my God, Faust, will you just shut up already? Rounding the bed, and crawling over top of her, I left my wrapping in place. If she wants to go that far, she can make the choice herself. I didn’t care.  **I was still hungry.**  
  
I slid my arms underneath her, grabbing and holding her cute, plushy butt in my hands. Maybe being slightly chubby was kind of ironic for a Lich, but it worked for her. It wasn’t as though she was out of shape, exactly. She could have kept up with me even before Monsterization took her physical abilities to new heights. She was just… pudgy. It was cute. I licked and teased at her hips and thighs until she spread her legs wide, inviting me in. At the same time, I heard her excited breathing as she fumbled with my wrapping.  
  
“This… this doesn’t count; you know?” What? For fuck’s sake, Faust. “We aren’t having sex. Not yet. You’re not ready. I’m just… having breakfast. Yes. It is the most important meal of the day, Lyle, skipping it would be foolish.”  
  
What the fuck ever.  
  
“Of course, Faust, whatever you say, my love.”  
  
My father had mentioned, when he’d gone over a man’s social and religious duties to satisfy his wife, that there might be unpleasant flavors, or smells, that cleanliness was important, all sorts of details I’d forgotten in my haste, but none of it seemed to apply here and now. I was truthfully beginning to believe Mamono might just be  _better_. Regardless, Faust’s… vagina… was really good. Amazing, honestly. It wasn’t that overwhelming pleasure, that sensation that had gripped me, heart and soul, only moments before, but I could spend my life here, I realized. Between her legs forever, loving her and being loved, making  _certain_  she was satisfied. The flavor was complex, salty, her skin and sweat, syrupy sweet, her cum itself, and warm, both in temperature, and the way it made my body come alight, like alcohol hitting the stomach too fast, leaving a pleasant buzz and a desire for more. There was an undertone of fruitiness, as well, though I couldn’t place it, so not one I’d had before. Trust Faust to flavor herself after something obscure.  
  
After savoring and familiarizing myself with the taste, I went to work. I’d expected not to get much out of this, but the taste being so desirable was a nice surprise, so ‘work’ may have been the wrong word. As her legs wrapped around me, ‘trapping’ me, I found the thing that surprised me the most was the way her flesh tensed, clenched, relaxed, and loosened in response to my ministrations. When I’d been occupying her body, I hadn’t had time to focus on the little nuances, the realities, of the entire process, but here… Well, I hadn’t imagined kissing something motionlessly lying there, but I was surprised by the vivacity of it. To compare it to a kiss, as I’d done earlier, was inadequate. Like comparing a-  
  
Oh my  _Demon_  Lord.  
  
Holy fuck.  
  
“Faust… that’s wonderful~… MMmmm” I lost myself in the sensation of her tongue, her lips and cheeks, wrapped around me in a way I’d only dreamed about. I forgot entirely about my own activities, until her hips began bucking, drawing my attention again. I got back to it, much less finesse, but with much more fervor. Where did sweet, innocent Sally learn to… Mmmm… I slowly rocked my own hips, helping her reach the lengths of myself, something I remembered too late I’d been told  _not_  to do, too much risk of choking her, but… She didn’t seem to mind.  
  
I might have felt pathetic for letting loose into her so soon, if she hadn’t sounded so satisfied with the results of that lack of endurance and control. That her energies seemed to be sustaining me for another round was a balm to my ego as well. If I can go as many times as she wants, if the time we can set aside for each other is the only limiter, isn’t faster honestly more, honestly better? It certainly  _feels_  better. Less than a minute passed before I came again, but I was drinking her own cum down just as fast, lapping it up, unwilling to let any run down her body and get trapped in the sheets. There was no shame in satisfying each other, was there?  
  
It was only after the fifth time that I collapsed, unable to keep myself up, in either sense. Neither of us moved to disengage, though, enjoying the contact. I still had to curl a little, to make our heights match, but she used her own hands to support me, so the effort was minimal. I still kissed and licked at her idly, from time to time, just reveling in her scent, and she seemed content to simply hold me in her mouth, perhaps enjoying me in a similar way. We stayed that way for a while, before I was overcome with an urge to look at her, to see her beautiful face, and I rolled off of her, despite her protests, shifting awkwardly and uncomfortably until I’d spun around, putting my face near to hers.  
  
She was so pretty.  
  
I pulled one of her pillows under my head, leaving room for her own next to mine, and when she shifted to match, I pressed my forehead against hers. Speaking to each other would feel a little crass, but sharing our personal space like this was nice. My body having just woken up, I was in no danger of falling asleep, even like this, but we both fell into a sort of quiet state, just holding each other, and being nearby. Occasionally, one of our hands would quest across the body of the other, drawing out a soft moan, or a pleasured laugh, but there was no urgency to it.  
  
She took care to position a blanket in between our hips, and I rolled my eyes at her, and kissed her on the nose.  
  
It was nice.  
  
  
Afterwards, with Faust choosing to luxuriate in bed for a bit longer, I went to Beepatrice’s door, knocking.  
  
“Beeps, may I come in?”  
  
“Enter.”  
  
I looked her over. I’d had a very sexual morning, but Beeps’ form was intriguing for other reasons at the moment. Well, sort of. She’d been patching herself up, covering herself over with flesh-tone panels that were somewhat different than the ones I was used to, not only did they cover more of her body, hiding her mechanical nature better, the false flesh was smoother, more glossy, and there was also more… detail, especially in a certain area. Before, Beepatrice had hidden that she was… ‘fully equipped for pleasure’ with a sort of sliding panel, but now, that panel was nowhere to be found. In total, there was much less exposed in terms of gears and machinery, only where her joints came together, but the overall effect seemed to make her more naked, not less.  
  
“Looks like you’ve been busy…”  
  
She nodded. “Repairs.”  
  
“I didn’t know you needed anything like that. I’d have helped you get it done.” Maybe. Probably not, actually, if I knew what they’d involve. I’ve changed a lot already, haven’t I? “How did you get… Um, injured?”  
  
“Self-inflicted.” This was said with the same disinterested tone she said everything in, but I became concerned, for obvious reasons.  
  
“What!? Why?”  
  
“Undercover.”  
  
Whaaaaaat? Are you, like, a secret agent for the crown? Is that why you’re so good at everything?  
  
“What do you mean? Why were you under cover? What were you pretending to be?”  
  
She blinked at me. Twice. “Asexual.”  
  
Oh. Right. Yeah. Okay.  
  
“I uh, yeah, that makes sense.” She turned back to her tools, working on some mechanism too small and complicated for me to appreciate. “Listen,” She turned back to me, and I got the feeling she knew I wasn’t done, that she’d turned back to her work specifically to underline that I was interrupting her as I continued, and drew her attention away from it again, “I was talking with Faust… about… um… spirit energy requirements…” Her whole body shifted to face me now, rather than just her upper torso, and I noted she opened her legs, her posture highlighting her new paneling’s detailing. Uh huh. Now you’re interested.  
  
“I was just wondering if you felt like… maybe you could use some more? I assume you’ve been gathering some through service over the years… but, if that’s not really effective enough…”  
  
Beeps took a moment to compose her answer, her fingers tapping the desk as she considered how she wanted to put it.  
  
“Inefficient,” she allowed. Not directly accusatory, but still highlighting there was a problem. Yikes.  
  
“Well, once you get yourself up and running in top condition, let me know, and keep me informed. I’ll, uh… put in the effort to make sure you stay fueled up, okay?”  
  
She stood up, and put her hands on my shoulders.  
  
“Thank. You.”  
  
Wow.  _Two_  words? What have I been doing to her all this time? And… how the hell am I supposed to have this conversation with  _Blackberry_? Maybe Faust will have some ideas, we can’t push the poor girl too fast, but if she’s starving too… I… I don’t know. Am I even going to have any free time left, between all of this? Would it be so bad if I didn’t?

 

-

 

Back in her bedroom, seated on her mattress, laying back flat, one of our arms each under the other, I had brought the question of Blackberry up with Faust. She had some suggestions, some rooted in her frustrations, I think, with Blackberry’s retained innocence. After some discussion, though, she suggested a plan I immediately hated, even as I knew it was probably our best chance at doing this in a natural, gentle way.  
  
“Lyle, I understand your reluctance, I truly do… but I make you this promise, it will work much better this time.”  
  
“Faust, that necklace reduced me to nothing but a drooling sex monkey within five minutes. Five. Minutes.” That was perhaps an understatement. I hadn’t been focused on keeping an accurate clock throughout the situation. It might have been thirty seconds or an hour for all I knew. “Putting aside that that’s not how  _I_  want to live  _my_  life,  _Blackberry_  shouldn’t be treated that way.”  
  
“There were a great many factors that contributed to your… state, Lyle. Most of which do not apply, not when Blackberry is on the other end of things rather than myself. She lacks many of the… enhancements I have undergone. My body is as finely tuned to respond to yours as I could yet make it, placing you inside that without precautions was a mistake.”  
  
“You can say that again,” I growled, my fingers unable to keep to themselves, brushing against her, flitting across her form with a casual sexuality I had not ever previously expressed. Most of my memories from my brief stint in Faust’s body were already fading, her every perception had been modified too much, more than my own mind could properly process for the memories to remain undistorted. It was a bit like the opposite of having memories dim. Trying to consider them, rather than looking into a blackness, was like staring into the sun. The smells too potent, the sights too vivid, the whispers too raucous, and the sensations of self not properly mapping to anywhere on my body, with an intensity too powerful to properly recollect.  
  
I had already been on the road to Incubization, a broadening and amplification of my sexuality, but those few minutes were like learning to sprint where before I’d been crawling. Even having slowed back down, my journey had been considerably hastened. It was exactly the kind of pacing we’d ostensibly been trying to avoid. My libido had swelled, and while the levels of resting lust were lessening all the time, returning to normal quickly, I had a suspicion that my innocence, what little I’d had left, had fled my body before I could return to it.  
  
“It was a mistake, my love. I am truly sorry for how it happened.”  
  
“Not that you did it, though.” That was a lot of her actions, lately. As per usual, when I didn’t have a chance to vet her ideas, things had spun wildly out of control.  
  
“Lyle… Would you prefer I lie to you? To say that I regret the revelations you seem to have had, that they were not my aim to achieve? That I do not believe that such understanding was worth pursuing, even if you might not have appreciated the necessity? It would be untrue. It would ring false.”  
  
I grunted. I certainly wouldn’t have assented to such a thing, not without a lot of convincing. I still thought that should have been my choice to make, but I wasn’t blind to the notion that my choices affected more than myself, especially these days, and that this choice in particular would have been far more… dire than I’d have likely perceived, even after spirited argument. I always tried my best to be understanding, but I hadn’t really  **understood**.  
  
I certainly had a better picture now, for better or for worse.  
  
“But… had things gone as I’d foreseen, you and I might have simply had a romantic evening, perhaps taken a walk around town… Sat under the moonlight… A beautiful prelude to our shared undeath…” She sighed, her fist clenching, “It matters not. I am sorry things unfolded as they did.”  
  
“I… I can’t say I’ve forgiven you Faust, not if we’re being honest with each other. But… I think I  _can,_  that in time, I  _will_. I certainly understand why you did it, and I can’t begrudge your reasoning. That said, I don’t see how that translates to willingly repeating the experience, even lessened in potency.” I was expressly ignoring the way my right arm,  _still_  clutching the necklace, had occasionally been twitching slightly, even tucked underneath Faust, was specifically pretending my eyes were sometimes slipping to look at her breast, rather than the matching necklace still around  _her_  neck. I think… I think now she would  **let me**. I shuddered, and with deliberation, didn’t try it.  
  
“Honestly, I don’t think it would even work. Blackberry would probably be a perfect gentleman while in my body. Even you were pretty well behaved.”  
  
“Even I? What precisely is that supposed to mean, dear Lyle?”  
  
I scoffed, and continued; “I sincerely doubt she’d start anything, and if you’re expecting me to use charm magic to talk her into it, then you should tell me now. It’s not something I want to do, and if you think I’ll be willing once the time comes, then your still-theoretical ‘repairs and preventative maintenance’ on the things won’t have gone far enough.”  
  
She rolled over, sitting herself on top of my exposed stomach. “Do not ignore me, my darling.” She started sliding herself back and forth, across my naked chest. At least I’d kept my pants on. “What  _precisely_  is that supposed to mean?”  
  
I put my hands under her arms, lifting her to my lap as I sat up, putting our faces near to each other. Her eyebrow quirked up. “It means, my dear, that your sexual awareness and promiscuous prowess is unparalleled, and that I’m consistently impressed with your restraint, especially in such a situation.”  
  
“Hmmm… Your skillful ability to disarm a situation with words… you should have been a bartender, my love, not the Sheriff.”  
  
“Hey, I was an amazing Sheriff!”  
  
“You had precisely one qualification as a Sheriff, Lyle, and her name was Beepatrice.”  
  
“Beepatrice was my  _Deputy,_ ” I cried, betrayed, “Why does everyone always get that wrong!?”  
  
“I cannot imagine. Perhaps we should investigate? What is it you always say is the first step in an investigation, Lyle? ‘Collect and consult the Deputy’?”  
  
“Knowing how to delegate is an important managerial skill! So is listening to expert subordinates!” I protested, frustrated. “Beepatrice!” I shouted, “Who is the Sheriff, me or you?”  
  
“Lyle,” came the muffled answer, from the truest, most loyal Deputy a Sheriff could ask for.  
  
I gestured towards the source of the noise, emphatically. “There, you see!? Beeps says  _I_  get to be, er… That I  _am_  the Sheriff.”  
  
“She would proudly declare you a banana if that is what you told her to say. It would not make it true, Lyle.”  
  
“Well, well… what about you? Huh? What does the town Librarian even  _do_ , Sally? We probably had five books between the lot of us!”  
  
“I kept inventory! And I managed the general store! …When anyone bought anything, that is. …Sometimes I cut hair, as well?”  
  
“Wow, all those bald men, needing their twelve hairs cut short, I’m  _so_  impressed. And what did that teach you about being Sheriff, huh? Bupkis, that’s what.” I began grumbling to myself, incoherently. “…great Sheriff… not the Deputy…very useful…”  
  
There was a knock at the door.  
  
“Lyle, Sally, can I come in?”  
  
I looked to Faust, it was her room.  
  
“Come in, Blackberry,” she said, gently.  
  
She looked very unsure as she squeezed in through the regular sized door frame. She was tapping her hands together nervously.  
  
“Lyle, are… are you really a Sheriff?”  
  
Faust opened her mouth, presumably to deny it, but I covered her mouth with my hand, and even though she licked my palm, I did not relent.  
  
“I am, Blackberry, why do you ask?”  
  
“Do you… maybe need a loyal steed? Someone to help you chase down no-good dirty rotten varmints?” Whaaaaat? Cute~  
  
“Of course not,” I said, and her expression fell. “No steed could ever outrun my beautiful bride when the purity of our love brings strength to her gait.”  
  
Her head rose back up from its droop, and her eyes began to sparkle, “Do you mean it?”  
  
“Of course!” I looked at her, ‘slyly’, one hand hiding my lips from Faust “You know, I had to take in Sally a number of times, public nuisance charges, avoiding curfew, that kind of thing… If you watch her carefully, you might catch her in the act, and we can ride her down together.”  
  
Faust did her best not to look displeased when Blackberry was obviously so enamored with the idea, but she flicked me on the ear when Blackberry ran out, presumably to tell Beepatrice and Amy about her promotion.  
  
Worth it.

 

-

 

Beepatrice had finished her paneling, and reported to me as requested, finding me still in Faust’s room.  
  
“Lyle.”  
  
“Hey Beeps. All done?” I cocked my head slightly to the side.  
  
“Yes.”  
  
I got up to take a look, leaving my necklace on the bed. Her pink hair was mostly unchanged, still short, chin length, and she’d replaced some of her decorative brass gears and accents on her arms and legs, though the ‘dress’ she wore on formal occasions at her chest and waist remained absent, but immediately obvious was that her lightly tanned flesh paneling had been darkened, like she’d spent a lot of time tanning in the sun. My own was still naturally darker, but not by a lot. Strangely, whatever process she’d used, she had left tan lines, suggesting a particularly racy two-piece swimsuit, or else rather skimpy undergarments, like one might find on some of the Mamono walking the streets of Morningwood. The ones who weren’t fully nude, anyway.  
  
Since she was, as far as I knew, unaffected by the sun, that had to be deliberate. That it highlighted her new sculpted nipples and vagina made the likelihood nearly certain. It certainly drew the eye. Before I even considered what I was doing, my fingers found one of her comparatively small breasts, testing the feeling of the new features. Not her hard metallic paneling, this was much softer. Even her paneling had a gloss over it, now, coupled perhaps with some kind of “skin-tight” covering, which made her somewhat more comfortable to touch, but her body was still obviously metallic. These, her nipples, were something else. It was as I was considering testing the other addition I caught up with myself.  
  
“Ah, sorry.” I stepped back, but she stepped with me.  
  
“Soft.” She said, and her motion not only kept us from getting farther apart, but she leaned such that my hand never left her chest, despite my admittedly short efforts to retract it. She vented a little steam.  
  
“Yeah.” I replied, breathing it in. I loved that oily smell, good memories.  
  
“Mine.” She asserted, like that day in the field, and my body began to respond.  
  
“Ahem. Beepatrice? I believe you owe me a week of service, my dear. My collection begins anon.”  
  
“What!?” “What.”  
  
Beeps and I spoke in unison, each shaken out of our reverie. Beeps looked between me and Faust, slowly.  
  
“Hungry.” She said, and it was almost plaintive.  
  
“Faust, that’s not fair.” I said, hotly, although my outrage was not as purely motivated as I would have liked it to be.  
  
“It  _is_  meant to be a punishment, my dear.” She tossed Beeps a vial, corked shut. “I had prepared this earlier, when Lyle and I were switched. It was meant to feed him, after our date, as a reward for his dealing with my urges, in my body. His startling failure to do so left it unused. It will serve to satiate you instead. Drink up.”  
  
Beepatrice scarcely examined it before downing the contents, but I had enough time to recognize it for what it was.  
  
“Faust!? You… you masturbated in my body!?” Not just once, either, by the looks of things.  
  
“As did you in mine, my dear, as did you in mine. You have little room to complain, as you yourself admitted to me.”  
  
I growled, lightly. I didn’t want to deal with this. I was horny, damn it. You interrupted!  **Again.**  
  
“Fine,” I said, “But if you take advantage of her, Faust… You... You  _will not_  force her to have sex with you, and I want to hear you say it.”  
  
“Beepatrice, you are not now, nor will you be, required to have sex with me, put up with any of my sexual advances, or to pleasure me sexually in any manner. If I change my mind, and require something like that of you, consider yourself instead released from your punishment.” I breathed out a sigh of relief. Thanks, Sally.  
  
“Understood.” Beeps replied, and her attention was on Faust. That was so strange. She was always looking at me, checking on me, keeping me in her peripheral vision, but… not now. It was unsettling.  
  
“I… uh… I’ll… leave you two to it, I guess.” I patted Beeps on the shoulder. She didn’t look at me, or respond. “I love you, Beeps. Be good.”  
  
I walked out.  
  
Alone.

  
  
  


* * *

  
  
  
  
  
Amy approached me that night. I’d been making myself available in the central room, waiting for her to work herself up to a conversation. I could probably have had a talk with ‘Fran’ if I approached her out of the blue, but I wasn’t sure how to handle that kind of attention yet, and something about this felt more genuine.  
  
“Lyle… Um, would… that is, in the mornings, I like to go… running.”  
  
“And you’d like it if I came with?”  
  
She nodded, blushing. “I… wasn’t able to go, this morning, because, well…”  
  
Because the locals were causing you trouble, I remember.  
  
“I… I think I’d like that. I need to get out for a bit. Do you mind if Blackberry comes along, though? I’m not sure I can keep up with either of you for long, but she can carry me if things fall apart.”  
  
She smiled, nodding. “I like her… she’s nice, if a little scary.”  
  
“Ha! She’s the one who scares you, not Faust?”  
  
“Faust… I know how to… deal with that kind of attention. No one has  _ever_  been excited to be my friend like Blackberry, though.”  
  
That’s… “Yeah,” I chose to say, “She’s a real gem. There is another problem, though.”  
  
She winced, “Oh?”  
  
“Yeah, it’s dangerous out there for me right now. You seem nice, and you’re not the pushy kind… I’m not blind to our situation, it’s pretty likely we get together, although maybe we don’t, and I appreciate the space to figure that out organically, but… I’m sure you can tell, Blackberry’s mana can support a few more Mamono, and some of those girls out there might not be so polite.”  
  
She looked downcast, “Yeah, that’s… I get that. The city’s mostly empty in the morning, everyone who wakes up next to someone has better things to do when they wake than to get  _out_  of bed, but…” she trailed off.  
  
I picked it up, “But that means the ones who  _are_  out will be the ones on the prowl.”  
  
She nodded.  
  
If only I had a dedicated battle maid who I could rely on to protect me from something like that. Gee. Where could I  _ever_  find such a thing.  
  
Fucking Faust.  
  
“Are… you okay?” Amy sat down on a chair nearby, leaving several seats in between us, not encroaching.  
  
Oh boy. What a question. “Faust and Beeps… are bonding, I guess. For the next week or so, I’m not really welcome along. Those two girls were my whole world for a long time… Blackberry’s pretty new, but I’ve known both of them, Sally and Beeps, for basically my whole life. I’m a little…” Am I really going to do this? There’s really only one way this goes. It sounds like I’m begging for her company. I let the sentence hang, rather than dig deeper.  
  
“Lonely?” She asked, and to her credit, she didn’t look excited, more sympathetic. Maybe  _I_  should be more sympathetic. I’d had friends my whole life. She, until recently, lived in a box.  
  
“I guess. I know how that sounds. Sorry.”  
  
“It’s fine, Lyle.” She smiled, “So you’ve known a Lich and an Automaton your whole life, but they’ve never interacted?”  
  
“No, it’s… well,” I dithered. How to put this? Maybe best to go through the whole thing. “It’s a lot more complicated. You got a minute?”  
  
“Sure. Should I get us a snack? Maybe something to drink?”  
  
I blinked at her, my eyes drawn to her chest. “Uh…”  
  
Her eyes went wide, her face beet red, “No no! I didn’t mean…! Well, if you want, but… I mean… Oh no…”  
  
I laughed, and she shrunk into herself a little.  
  
“It’s okay, it’s okay, that was my bad. Get us whatever you’d like.”  
  
She recovered, once it was clear I wasn’t laughing  _at_  her, and she left for the kitchen. When she returned, she had some cookies, and other small snacks, which apparently our kitchen just… had? Maybe there were Mamono bakers supplying us in a similar way to the furniture? Hopefully it was actually edible… The taste was good, and I grabbed a glass of water from the tray. There was also a lone, small, glass of milk. Barely anything. Just a small glass, and only half full at that. It smelled amazing, but I wasn’t sure I was ready for that. Not yet.  
  
We talked long into the night, as I regaled her, and Blackberry, when she joined us, with stories from my days in town, and they both seemed to find the tales rather funny, for the most part. By the end, with both of them all caught up, I hadn’t touched the milk. Amy drank it down without seeming discouraged.  
  
I wasn’t sure how to feel about it, but she seemed happy, so I guess we’d see how the morning went.

 

-

 

The next morning saw an interesting addition to my room, which I noticed only after I stopped dwelling on the fact that Beeps… hadn’t come by to tuck me in last night. The new feature was an outfit, hanging on the rack in my closet. It took a moment to notice, as I’d slept in the main bed. I’d sort of hoped I wouldn’t sleep alone, yearned not to, really, but Amy respected my space, Blackberry didn’t know to try something like that, and… Faust and Beeps kept to themselves. Damn it.  
  
…The garment was black and dark purple, standard Mamono fashion faire, but it had odd pale yellow accents. It was surprisingly tempting, for all that. It looked sleek, easy to move in. I assumed the room had understood my plans this morning, and provided something it thought might help to wear. It looked as though it would cover much more skin than I might have expected, nearly as much as my current clothes, despite their non-sexual nature, and the temptation to wear it was overwhelming. My clothes needed a wash. Needed, really, to be thrown out and replaced. I just wasn’t sure there was anything for sale in this city that I’d actually willingly wear.  
  
I slipped out of all my clothing and blankets, even undoing my wrapping. Yikes. I was grimy and gross. Forget my clothes,  _I_  needed a wash. …Or to be thrown out and  _replaced_.  
  
No no no. Lyle, calm down, it’s only a week, and you asked for this. Faust would have been happy with only a day; you were the one that added all that extra time. Man up. Don’t be clingy. But… what I wouldn’t give to feel the embrace of my loyal maid right now.  
  
Focus. For a moment, as I picked up the strange clothing off the hanger, I thought it felt… almost wet? But I must have been imagining things, or perhaps it had been an unseen tear, falling onto my hand. Lord, I was a wreck. I needed to pull together for Blackberry, if nothing else. It wouldn’t do to make Amy’s first time out in town with us sour, either.  
  
Sliding into the clothing felt easy, natural. Perfect. Mamono stuff sure was amazing, eh? I didn’t know what this thing was made out of, but it could be Demon cum for all I cared, this felt fantastic. Was it enchanted? I felt like… like I could leap to the ceiling, like I could just… walk up a wall. Like I could do  _anything_. Maybe some kind of Mamono spider silk, or something? Whatever it was, it was so smooth… it almost felt like it was flowing over me, rather than brushing against me. Wow.  
  
I took a step, and was surprised by how easy it was, effortless. The clothes were… helping somehow. I did a little hop, barely tried to leave the ground, but I rocketed upward, stopping just short of the ceiling with my head, and I hung there a moment, touching it with my fingers in wonder, before gravity seemed to reassert itself.  
  
Maybe I didn’t need to worry about going out after all.  
  
 ~~This outfit would keep me safe.~~  
  
That… should that idea worry me? No, no. Faust would have warned us if the rooms could create something dangerous. Would have warned  _me_ , especially. She was the only one allowed to surprise me with questionable artefacts, apparently.  
  
 ~~This clothing was perfectly normal.~~  
  
Smiling, feeling a little warm, I walked out of my room to find Amy already dressed and waiting.  
  
She blushed as she took me in, and it was true that this was a bit more revealing, or, well, more that it was tighter, less bulky, than my usual fair, but we  _were_  going running.  
  
“Good morning, Amy!” It was difficult not to feel a little cheerful. I was doing great, now.  
  
“…Hi?” Amy replied, unsure.  
  
I put my hand on her shoulder.  
  
“Don’t worry, Amy, these clothes just feel really nice. They’re making me stronger, somehow. The room provided them for our run this morning, I think they’re enchanted to help me keep up with you girls.” I demonstrated by picking up one of the chairs in one hand. Wow that was cool.  
  
“Uh… if you say so, Lyle.” Her eyes were wide, watching me causally displaying more strength in my hand than I might have truthfully had in my body. It was a big chair.  
  
“Faust would have said if there were anything to be nervous about. Whatever clothing the room whistled up, it’s got to be perfectly safe.”  
  
She nodded, appeased. “Yeah, okay.”  
  
We walked up to Blackberry’s door, preparing to knock. Before we could, I came.  
  
“Aaaaah~” I moaned, surprised. The pleasure had snuck up on me. It was full body, like I was… wrapped in it. Oh hell.  
  
I fell down, onto my ass, then wound up on my back, as I came again.  
  
“Oooh…” I looked up at Amy, she was conflicted. I could see why; this was her chance. I was helpless, whatever was going on had me completely at its mercy. She could join in, if she wanted, I couldn’t stop her, wouldn’t want to after just one taste, no doubt. That… might be fun.  
  
Instead, for better or for worse, she called out; “Faust!? Help! Something’s wrong with Lyle!”  
  
Beeps tore out of Faust’s room, and faster than the eye could see she was already kneeling at my side, trying to claw the clothing off. Faust herself wasn’t far behind, trailing by only a second or two, constrained by the limits of biology.  
  
The clothing flowed around Beeps’ fingers, and as she aimed a shot at it, it pulled me across the floor, the sensation of thousands of tiny feet supporting me flinging me across the ground at ludicrous speed. I came to a stop on the ceiling as I came again.  
  
“Mmmmm…” I… did we have to stop this? I could feel it better now, in every pore, every crevice, every orifice, it was amazing. A head rose up out of my chest, looking at me with devotion, and satisfaction. Dark purple hair, light blue skin, pale yellow eyes, a maid’s headdress, and the widest, brightest smile I’d ever seen. Then we kissed, or  ~~she~~ kissed me, then I agreed to kiss her back? It wasn’t clear who’d initiated, but I was  _super_  on board.  ~~She~~ was wrapping herself around my face, through my nose, my mouth, my ears, and inside my head, like  ~~she~~ already held the rest of me. Very nearly, but not quite, a part of me.  ~~She~~ tasted so good, like boysenberry jam and also, unsurprisingly, sex, and as  ~~she~~ filled my stomach, my lungs, my body tried to suffocate, and started  _breathing her_  instead.  
  
I thought I heard Faust, occasionally, yelling something, but I knew I was safe. She’d figure it out. I’d just gotten married again, that’s all. Unless I missed my guess, she was a Shoggoth, so I think we were even expecting  ~~her~~ , hoping for  ~~her~~? No harm if we weren’t though.  ~~She~~  was staying. Decision made, although arguably not by me, I started moving my body around, trying to further grind against something that was already furiously flowing against every inch of my body. It wasn’t effective, but  ~~she~~  appreciated it,  ~~buzzing~~  across my whole body, like a cat purring, shaking me to my core, that simple act by itself causing me to cum again, twice in a row.  ~~Her~~  approval was  _wonderful_.  
  
We stayed like that for a while.  
  
Because  ~~she~~ approved.  
  
  


-

  
  
  
 ~~She~~ let us drop down to the floor, after we were completely satisfied.  
  
“Lyle, darling, are you okay?” Faust was dripping with snot, spells floating around her body at every angle, “We are trying to work out how to remove her!”  
  
“Her? Her who?” I asked, a little confused.  
  
“That t̺̗̥̟͜͡͝h̴̬͔̲̖͇͝i̸̵̗̖̲̖̫̞n̟̻͉͘g̤̱͓͢͞ that has you wrapped in its clutches, Lyle!” She cried, shaking me by the shoulders.  
  
“My clothes? You want me to take them off? In front of everyone? Faust, I’m… not really into that?” She looked horrified. It wasn’t that bad. Beeps was a nudist, if that’s what you need, try appreciating her, Lord knows she works hard enough.  
  
“Lyle, your ‘clothes’ are a Shoggoth! She has been raping you for hours! We are trying to save you!”  
  
“Rape? What? Faust, I don’t need saving. I’m great. This is great. I love my new clothes.”  ~~She~~ rumbled, in appreciation, and my vision danced. I smiled, in response.  
  
“Lyle? You’re scaring me…” Blackberry?  
  
We flowed across the floor, our feet sliding without friction, moving to comfort my sweet, cute Bicorn. She stepped back. We stopped. I frowned.  
  
“I… Blackberry, honey, it’s okay.” We reached out, and tentacles passed down my arm, extending my reach, briefly exposing my arm.  
  
Beeps was on it in an instant, her grip like a vice.  
  
“Beeps, let me go.”  
  
She got right up into my face, inches from my nose.  
  
“NEVER.” Her gears clanged, steam escaping, adding a cacophonous roar to her normally empty tone.  
  
What? That’s…  
  
“COMPROMISED.” Her body howled, and I recognized the phrase. It was meant to be used when Beeps believed I was in the grips of a hostile Mamono, that I couldn’t trust my judgement. I… didn’t agree, but… that’s not what this was about. If she was right, I couldn’t understand the situation properly. The question was… did I trust her?  
  
Of course I did.  
  
“Okay, Beeps. I think you’re wrong, but you’d never misuse this. What do you need me to do?”  
  
“EMBRACE.” The screaming metal and screech of pressurized steam was suddenly  ~~really~~ getting on my nerves, but I hugged her anyway. I could feel my body being pulled away, but it was  _my_  body, this was  _my_  Beeps. More and more of my body came into contact with her as the steam blasted at me, until my clothes were blown clean off. We held each other, naked and in love.  
  
The howling died down, even as the gooey woman tried to engulf me again. Beeps refused to allow her to separate us.  
  
“Seniority.” She asserted, looking the Shoggoth in the eye.  
  
The Shoggoth leapt at me again, trying incessantly to find a way in, and failing. She could enter my body by any means she wished, but Beeps stood firm. There was no coming between us.  
  
“Seniority.” She repeated, and she headbutted me, hitting my forehead with her own. Ow? What? Oh, right.  
  
“Right you are, Beeps. You’re still my number one right hand, no matter what.” The Shoggoth deflated at that, collapsing into a puddle. She quivered and shook, crying silently.  
  
Oh. Well, that wasn’t okay.  
  
“Excellent work, Beepatrice. I have it contained. I will banish it presently.” Sure enough, a circle of purple light surrounded the girl, she sloshed and slammed against it, trying to break free, but she couldn’t. She pounded at the invisible wall, wailing and calling out for me, albeit silently.  
  
“Faust, Beeps…”  
  
“No!” “No.”  
  
They replied in unison. Already on the same page, huh? …Not the time, Lyle.  
  
“No, listen. This… wasn’t right.” I looked sternly at the slime-girl, and she slumped, shrinking back, and also literally shrinking. “But we can negotiate with her. She’s… useful, right Faust?” And a  _really_  good fuck, holy shit.  
  
“Useful she may be, Lyle, but this was beyond the pale.” Faust said, without a hint of irony.  
  
I just raised an eyebrow at her.  
  
…  
  
She blushed.  
  
“Ahem… Yes, well perhaps there is some room for forgiveness after all.” She said, quickly.  
  
Wow, so generous.  
  
“She can protect me, let me protect myself. An extra layer of security. Especially useful this week, no?” I turned back to look at the Shoggoth, “That is, if she agrees to play nice.”  
  
She nodded excitedly, turning back into clothes immediately.  
  
“Besides listening to Beeps, that means no manipulation. No physical, no mental, none.” Unless I beg you for it. I might. She turned back into a woman, crossing her arms and pouting. “It’s my body, if you want to share it, you’re agreeing to let me live my life and ride along, not to live my life for me. That’s the deal.”  
  
She shifted her hips a little as she considered, drawing my eye. I started drooling, just slightly. She smirked, then nodded.  
  
I looked at Faust, who dropped the wall, and…  
  
I got dressed.

 


	4. 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is short because it's an interlude. In general, these will not be skippable, as they provide information the narrative relies on. This one technically IS skippable, but... c'mon! It's short, and you get an idea how the girls think! Totally worth it.

It seemed the situation was now mostly under control.  _Lyle was in the room._  The Shoggoth, while still pleasuring  _I love you,_  Lyle past the point of breaking, had fought vigorously, turning aside spell and strike with equanimity and equal ease, which, as  _I love you,_  Lyle had indicated, made her an excellent bodyguard, once leashed and turned to our cause. I still misliked her, however, and Blackberry seemed to fear her, and not without fair basis.  
  
The crisis averted, though, meant I needed to return to my work.  _Leave the room with Lyle in it? Why?_  There was much to be done, I had Beepatrice’s borrowed loyalty only for a few scant days. If I wished to ensure she would bend knee to me willingly afterwards, I needed to work hastily. My lunch with the Queen was today, as well.  
  
“Come along, Beepatrice, back to work. Lyle is now stable, as you yourself have seen.” And if that bitch tried to run off with him… well, he’d slept in his beds. Callback Beds, both. He was already destined to return to us, to me, night after night, whenever he slept elsewhere. He could no longer escape. He would come to love me. He  _would._ I simply must believe it.  
  
He had not yet masturbated to me today. It had been nearly fifteen hours now since the last time.  _Why, Lyle? I love you, Lyle._  
  
Beepatrice fell into line behind me, and I felt a thrill run through my body. Her service was not without its draws. That she derived pleasure from following commands was not knowledge I believed  _I love you,_  Lyle to possess. She was hopelessly addicted to him, to his service, in that way we were much the same, and if I could only teach her body to accept  _my_  orders as well, without the intermediary of  _I love you,_  Lyle’s own desires… If I could believe she needed me… I might be able to open my heart to her as well. My encounter with Fran had been rousing, true, but… she could still choose to betray us.  
  
Still, the female form held many more pleasures than the male, for all that I needed ejaculate to survive. Semen was enjoyable to partake in, by itself, beyond even the most floral of descriptions, but to share in that feeling with one you loved, to know she was feeling it too, that was a joy higher still.  _I love you,_  Lyle must never be allowed to learn of the methods that could sustain him indefinitely as a man, or he might choose to toss those pleasures aside, and we could never share them as we did every night in my dreams. Research has shown without equivocation, even the most sensual Incubus still enjoys sex less than the most innocent Mamono does, without any effort on her part. Our brains were simply better wired for it. I would experience every inch of it, and then I would share this beautiful feeling with the one who meant the most to me.  _It must be done, if he is ever to return my feelings._  
  
Beepatrice was invaluable as an assistant, passing tools as I asked for them, then, eventually, slowly, before I asked for them. She knew enough about magical theory, or was perhaps simply so effective at pattern recognition, that I needed not even speak, she grasped my intent and supplemented my motion. Could she not see how wonderful we could be, if we could only toss this feud aside? I was not blameless, true, my own temper caused as many problems as her surprisingly acerbic temperament, but now, for this short time, she must treat me as she would the one we adored, and it was so  _right._  Couldn’t she see that?  
  
Inspired by  _I love you,_  Lyle’s recent… adventures, I was attempting to create a spell that would allow me to walk upon the ceiling. Beepatrice might find it useful in her cleaning, true, but for myself, the draw was clear. When we engaged in intercourse upon the underside of the roof,  _I love you,_  Lyle’s life would constantly be in my hands, my grip all that prevented him from death. He must come to accept that I would arbitrate such things, that these decisions were mine, if we were ever to bring him to transcendence.  
  
But the time drew near, we must away. Such things are less important than ensuring my place with  _I love you,_  Lyle was secure, and to that end, we must visit the Queen.  
  
  


- 

  
  
Run:Routine.Diagnostic  
….  
Processing.  
Begun.  
Current Designation: Elite Unit: Beepatrice  
Previous Designation: Elite Unit: # 9 of 9 – Limited Run  
Current Allegiance: Lyle  
Previous Allegiance: World Government: International Demonic Invasion Prevention and Monster Management Division (Note: Out of Contact)  
Current Rank: Super Cute Head Maid  
                      Sub-rank: Town Deputy  
Previous Rank: High Commander: Special Operations, Combat, and Infiltrations Unit.  
Current Task: Serve the Hated One (Time limit: 5 days 17 hours 43 Minutes 12 Seconds 01 Milliseconds)  
Previous task: Routine Maintenance and Attraction Enhancement (Operation: Success)  
Current Status: Very Sexy, Frustrated, Annoyed, Amorous, Longing, Away from Lyle  
Current Location: Queen Twinkle Star’s Palace, Morningwood, Away from Lyle  
  
“Beepatrice, Sally tells me you are something of an artist?”  
  
Subject: Queen Twinkle Star  
Race: Monster  
Subtype: Titania  
Subtype: Leanan Sidhe  
Rank: Landlord  
Suggested Disposition: Polite Disinterest  
Physical Description: …Complicated  
  
Inferring… Subject desires demonstration of Unit’s artistic prowess.  
  
Run:Show.Off.For.Lyle  
  
Unit nods.  
To do: Use language to express multiple abilities and desirability. “Renaissance”  
  
“I’ve provided some stone here; could you demonstrate?”  
  
Subject: Stone Pillar  
Race: Mineral  
Subtype: Marble  
Rank: Object  
Suggested Disposition: Extreme Violence  
Physical Description: Large, Square, Boring  
  
Unit assesses Subject suitability.  
Suitability: High.  
Unit nods.  
Unit enters combat against Subject: Stone Pillar  
Subject: Stone Pillar – Defeated (Elapsed time: 1 Minute 3 Seconds)  
  
Subject: Cute Statue  
Race: Mineral  
Subtype: Marble  
Rank: Lyle (Inanimate)  
Suggested Disposition: Adoration  
Physical Description: Lyle, Standing, Naked, Erect, Attractive, Grateful, Full-scale  
Suggested Action: Intercourse  
                           WARNING: Intercourse prevented by current task.  
                           Unit curses the Hated One  
                           Unit serves the Hated One  
                           Unit receives PLEASURE for service.  
                           …Unit curses the Hated One

  
Subject: Queen Twinkle Star assessing Subject: Cute Statue  
Expected Result: Awe, Satisfaction  
  
“Well… There’s definitely passion in it, I guess. And technical skill…” Expression: Distasteful “But… you didn’t try, really, and that’s where the flavor  _actually_  comes from. That’s what takes a statue, and makes it art.”  
  
“It truly is an excellent likeness, however. But that it is made from marble, it depicts him precisely as he was, scant hours ago, after being freed from that Shoggoth.”  
  
Subject: Sally Franks – Faust von Frankenstein  
             Designation: The Hated One  
             Designation: Temporary Master  
Race: Monster  
Subtype: Sexy Lich  
Subtype: Loner Loser  
Rank: Jealous Unworthy Bitch That Master Loves Anyway Because HE is too Generous  
Suggested Disposition: Quiet Disdain  
Physical Description: Short, Chubby, Dead, Cute Curly Hair, Attractive  
Suggested Action: Inconvenience  
                            Warning: Suggested action not possible due to current task.  
                            Unit curses the Hated One  
                            Unit serves the Hated One  
                            Unit receives PLEASURE for service.  
                            …  
                            …Unit curses the Hated One

  
  
“That may be, but art is about  _struggle_. It’s about taking the time to make something worth the effort, and I can’t but think that if she can accomplish this in such a short time, that if she actually applied herself, she could really achieve something. You know, like you did, Sally.”  
  
JEALOUSY.  
  
“Like I did? What do you mean, my Queen?”  
  
“Please, Sally, I am your little Twinkle Star.” Subject Assessment: Not Little  
  
Subject is exaggerating. Possibly displaying ‘cuteness’. Cataloguing.  
  
“It is difficult to think of you in that way, as you sit upon your throne of supplicants.”  
  
“Who, them? They’re sweethearts, it’s performance art. I’m rather enjoying it, actually. They’re calling it, ‘The Throne of Mamono is Man’. Let me tell you, the name may be a bit on the nose, but…” Subject’s hips shift. Subject is engaged in intercourse. “The fit is exquisite.”  
  
“It seems as such. But, what did you mean?”  
  
“Ah yes, but of course I refer to your body, my dear. Though I wished to bring you into the world of Mamono as one of my own creatures, you have, in your transformation, and your efforts afterwards, made a canvass of yourself, devoted to your lover. It is distractingly beautiful. Far moreso than this simple statue.”  
  
Despair. Failure. Hated One surpasses Unit.  
  
.  
.  
.  
  
To do: Produce Art  
  
  


-

  
  
Grass  _was_  even tastier when some you loved had stepped on it, Lyle had been right! He didn’t even eat grass; how did he know? I snuck a nibble really quick while he wasn’t looking. I was so hungry lately.  
  
Amy was the best friend I could have ever asked for! Other than Sally. Oh, and Beeps. And Lyle!  
  
But Amy was great too! She suggested going on a walk, and I really missed being outside! Wow, the way the sun warmed my fur so much more now that I was depraved, and it had blackened as a warning, it was like a little hug from nature. ‘Good job, Raspberry, you’re still a good girl,’ the sun seemed to say. ‘I’m Blackberry,’ I would whisper back. ‘Whoops,’ the sun would probably blush, but no one could tell, so it would be okay.  
  
Lyle was sitting, having just climbed into my saddle,  _in my saddle oh my god,_  tired after only a few miles. Poor guy. We’d get him back in shape! Although… then he wouldn’t need to ride me anymore? Oh no! But this was Amy’s idea! …Is Amy a traitor? Sally warned me about traitors. They seem like your friends at first, but then they see your weird ugly birthmark when you’re at the lake and they all laugh at you and no one wants to talk to you ever again after you stab the meanest one, even if it was only a little. But… I didn’t think I had a birthmark? Maybe on my back? I didn’t think I wanted to stab anyone either. Maybe with my horn if I were really, really mad? Oh, horn _s_. Two, now, like a monster. Right. I’m not a Unicorn anymore.  
  
…Sally was very smart though! She wouldn’t warn me for no reason. Just because I’ve never met a traitor yet doesn’t mean I wouldn’t! And there was a lake right over there!  
  
“Hey, Amy?”  
  
“Um… yes, Blackberry?”  
  
“Is there a birthmark on my back?” Hahaha! I’ve got you cornered, maybe-traitor!  
  
She moved aside my long hair, looking at my back. “Uh… no? Should there be?”  
  
“Probably not! But it doesn’t hurt to check!” She was safe. Now, to reassure her that  _I_  wasn’t a traitor!  
  
“You don’t have any weird birthmarks either, Amy!”  
  
“Uh… thanks?”  
  
I nodded, smiling. We understood each other.  
  
We trotted along, and it was really reassuring hearing the clop clop clop of her hooves alongside mine. I missed my herd. But… they don’t want Bicorns in the herd, so… I have to stay away.  
  
Sometimes, I wanted to make a new herd with Lyle, but… I’m not supposed to. Mama said that Bicorns are the worst, and it’s every Unicorn’s duty to outbreed them. We can’t… um… do the thingy… with anyone who isn’t our husband, because we’ll become Bicorns… which I did, sort of, Sally helped me with her magic, but also because… when you do  _it_ , you get foals, even if you aren’t ready, and you still need to care for them. It’s your duty. And if you become a Bicorn, if you’re a bad girl and betray your family, it’s your duty to  _let_ the good Unicorns who listened to their Mama outbreed you. No foals. So you can’t do the thingy at all. Ever.  
  
…So I can’t make a new herd. I miss my Mama, but she won’t ever hug me again, or tell me I’ve been good… or, or sing songs with me…  
  
No. I have to be strong, like my heroines! Like Tallgrass, the brave! Like Pinecone, the pretty! Like Dandelion, the smart! Like… like Sally! They’re not just stories, they’re herd, too! Mama said so! Except Sally, I never told Mama about Sally.  
  
She wouldn’t have liked her, not at all…  
  
Anyway! Just like them, I found my husband, and just like them, love will carry us through the day, and into the night!  
  
Right?  
  
“Lyle?” I asked, “Can you… I’d like a hug please…”  
  
He wrapped his arms around me from behind, and it was the best thing ever, even the hug from the sun melted away, and I started swaying on the path, having trouble walking straight. But… the good feelings were bad. I knew that. Mama said your body would try to trick you, make you do bad things, but you shouldn’t listen. It wasn’t Lyle’s fault he made me feel like that. If I’d been good, we could have been together. I’d just have to suffer it, for him.  
  
A good wife listens to her Mama and loves her husband.  
  
  


- 

  
  
While I waited for the others to begin our walk, a bit belayed, I looked down at my hooves. I shouldn’t be able to see them. But as much as it hurt, there was always a little thrill there, too. See, Amy? You  _are_  a Mamono. You might be a runt, but… that doesn’t mean you’re nothing. My goggles clung reassuringly on my forehead, pressing into the skin, reminding me I could be brave, if I had to. Nobody got to push me around. Not anymore.  
  
I was a little afraid to go out, at first. Lyle had that… thing on, still. I knew it wasn’t right the moment I saw it; I should have trusted my instincts. Stupid. But, it seemed to be under control, now. Once it accepted Beeps as the better Mamono, it calmed down a lot. I… couldn’t do anything, though. Anything other than stand there, watching him look up at me with desire in his eyes. I almost broke my promise to myself right then and there. I’d wanted someone to look at me like that for so long… But it was false. Fake. I had to  _earn_  it.  
  
I still wish he’d drank my milk, though. If… he tried it, and he liked it, and he wanted more… I’d give it to him. I’d met a lot of guys who’d dismissed me immediately. Holstaurus hardly even count as having a harem, when paired with another Mamono. It was incredibly common for threesomes to form from a couple getting a tour of anyplace that hired us. Hired  _them_ , anyway. I’d been called ‘cosplayer’ more than I cared to admit, before I made the goggles. It wasn’t long after that people got word to quit being nasty. But fear isn’t any more helpful than disgust, and… it wasn’t like I could win a fight with the stronger girls anyway. The most I’d ever beaten was… Well, I didn’t like to think about her, but she’d show up eventually.  
  
She always did.  
  
I gave Blackberry a hug, in greeting, it’d quickly become our custom. I loved hugs, loved the way I felt as her chest pressed against mine, against my tits, so incredibly sensitive, so overwhelming… so goooooood…  
  
And then it was over. I’d have that one day, for real, not just these tiny, quick tastes, but someone who really appreciated what I had to offer. Maybe Lyle. Maybe. He’d said as much himself. Though, for all his “space to work that out organically,” he sure seemed chummy with that Shoggoth thing. And I guess Faust was going to make him into a Zombie at some point…? Probably just being polite. But that was still a step up from where I’d been, in that box. That close to the city, there wasn’t a huge chance I’d have met someone hostile, but… I’d known that the chance was there. I’d sat anyway. I’d been in a bad place, trying the last, most desperate thing I could think of. Thank the Lord it paid off.  
  
At least they were all nice. Faust, for all her psychosis, had seriously rocked my world that day on the hill, I never realized it could be like  _that._  Her magic was amazing. I could work on her personal problems. We’d be going at it again, I was sure, though with her and Beeps apparently bonding, when that was going to be was something of a mystery. Beeps was cool too; I’d already let her try some of my milk. She loved it. That satisfied “Delicious”, it had been everything I’d ever wanted. Well, she could have said a bit more, actually, but going straight to the other breast was almost as good. She was all business, though. Not really interested beyond the benefits the milk provided. I wanted to get her to lighten up some. Until I did, I couldn’t get what I  _needed_  there. It was still a helpful release.  
  
Blackberry… She was the best one, but she also kind of unnerved me. There was something wrong with her, and I didn’t think the others saw it. Something… had been done to her. Something like what had happened to me. It was in the way she looked at people, desperate for their approval, her frightening innocence, which the others took at face value… but for me, that screamed warning signs. Mamono don’t act like that, not unless they’re putting on a show for their husbands, anyway. This was... too real, and it terrified me. She seemed to think she needed to help me, bring me out of my shell, and I appreciated it, but I was determined to help her, too. The others seemed to be taking it slow with her, at least. I approved of that. Lyle and I would have to talk, later, see what we could arrange, what his current plans were. I just had to stammer through it.  
  
I was going to earn my place here.  
  
They’d never want me gone.  
  
Please.


	5. 5

Amy kept sneaking glances at my clothes, while Blackberry went at great lengths to avoid looking at them. I knew it wasn’t my fault, but I couldn’t help but feel a little guilty about it anyway. I’d frightened the both of them, likely Faust and Beeps as well, though those two were a bit more… sturdy.  
  
There wasn’t any easy way to bring the tension down, either, other than to just move on, restore normalcy. The facts were that I needed this Shoggoth,  ~~she purred~~ , needed her to help me stay safe out here, on the streets of a monster city. Even Beeps, for all her positives, wasn’t quite as effective at this specific task. Not unless I gave her a piggyback ride till the end of time, anyway. Cute as that might be, and happy as she might be to do it, my arms would get tired eventually. Stupid human arms.  
  
The streets of Morningwood were not quite as crowded as they’d been on our arrival, it was still technically the morning hours, but I was willing to bet that as midday approached, we’d see more and more activity as couples finally dragged themselves out of bed. Sights I might never have imagined were already gracing my eyes. Odd couples, and not just with men, it seemed lonely Mamono were inclined to pair off, at least temporarily. Or perhaps it was just their nature to treat casual friends as lovers? I saw, for instance, many a Succubus with their tail buried deep inside a nearby partner, casually fucking in the streets as they walked and shopped. That was commonplace, to the point Succubi on their lonesome was more uncommon.  
  
Glass jars with Holstaur milk were passed around freely outside certain shops, Amy always sped up as we passed any employee doing that job, and seemed to watch me from the corner of her eye, ensuring I wasn’t checking out the competition. I didn’t know them, and didn’t want to, so I avoided making a fool of myself on that front at least.  
  
Construction crews tore down and rebuilt structures across the city, always with an eccentric visionary of one sort or another leading the charge. Occasionally, an argument about how to proceed broke out, and the two Mamono would tackle each other, fighting for dominance in pleasure games. Even the more relaxed, friendly types occasionally got involved in romps like that, though they rarely initiated.  
  
Most interesting was the Prisoner fruit, kept in baskets lining the streets. I noticed girls just taking and eating them, sometimes two at a time. There always seemed to be more in the baskets, and there were  _plenty_  of baskets.  
  
“Amy, are those…?”  
  
“Oh, uh… the fruits? Are they free, you mean?”  
  
“Yeah. I knew they were common in Demon realms, but…”  
  
She nodded. “They are. It’s… sort of like a courtesy food. They’re technically addictive… but since we never run out…”  
  
“They’re  _that_  plentiful?”  
  
“Mmm…” She’d grabbed one and bitten in, as we were talking. “Yeah. There's not much point in selling them. It'd be like selling air. They grow in gardens and empty soil whether you want them to or not. Of course, the only ones who don’t want them to haven’t tried them yet.”  
  
“That’s… isn’t that kind of creepy?”  
  
“Maybe? It’s not like people push them on you, they just think you’re kind of silly if you don’t eat them. Free, tasty, way too satisfying, they’re kinda hard to hate.”  
  
The smell of the juices running down her lips was incredibly tempting. It smelled a little… familiar actually.  
  
“Can I try one, Amy?” Uh, Blackberry… are you sure?  
  
But she was already biting in, after Amy had nodded to her, gesturing at a basket. I… the delight on her face… I was jealous.  
  
“Wow! These are soooo good! They’re free!?”  
  
Amy nodded again, shrinking back a little under Blackberry’s excited interrogation.  
  
I… that smell, I couldn’t place it… Aw hell, they’re free, right? It’s not like I’m ever heading back to the Pure Lands anyway, not to live there, at least.  
  
The soft, fleshy fruit brought to mind the feeling of Beepatrice’s chest under my fingers, and I shivered as the juices stained my hands. Abundantly sweet, but not too rich, it felt like it reached directly into my pleasure centers and sparked them off as the sensation hit my tongue. This taste… it was definitely familiar…? I’d never had Prisoner fruit before, and while I could hardly call that a mistake, given where I’d been living, I had to say I was grateful they were in baskets lining the streets. I’d spend way too much money on them, otherwise.  
  
 _But why would I spend that money when I could just eat Faust out for free?_  
  
…Wait! That’s what it was! This fruit, it tasted like Faust’s cum, and a little like her kisses, as well. Wow, that was… I was torn between feeling really lucky I got to experience that whenever I wanted,  _while also having sex_ , and being a little peeved that she’d done that to herself before I’d had the chance to try it on my own. Now these fruits would always remind me of her, rather than  _her_  tasting like  _them_.  
  
Oh. Duh. That’s the point.  
  
Amy was blushing, looking at me with knowing eyes. At least I didn’t have to explain why I’d gone unresponsive in front of Blackberry. Blackberry herself was preoccupied with her own fruit, and hadn’t noticed. Speaking of 'hadn’t noticed', I’d finished the whole thing, and was licking my fingers. Remembering that Faust hadn’t known what cunnilingus was, I gestured toward my crotch, in Amy’s line of sight, then mouthed “Faust” to her confused glance, holding up the fruit. Didn't I finish...? Oh well.  
  
Her eyes widened, and her blush deepened. I was right, she’d only tasted her kiss. Someone was going to have fun, next time.  
  
Ugh. Faust. When we got back I needed to kiss that girl senseless. I’d forgotten to feed her this morning, too. We needed to get in the habit, I wouldn’t let her starve herself for her pride’s sake. Maybe I could convince her to wake me up with…  
  
This was a bad place to let my thoughts slip in that direction. Although not for much longer, we could hold one, maybe two more on Blackberry’s back, metaphorically. Soon I’d be free to run wild. ...What would that look like?  
  
Moving on, and grabbing another fruit for the road, we continued down the streets.

 

 

* * *

  
  
  
  
Later on, we paused at a café, just to grab some waters. I took a card Faust had given me, and showed it to the waitress, a cute Kakuen, a monkey type-Mamono, holding the trays up on her tail. She raised an eyebrow, but that was apparently enough to get us waters and a table without a fuss. Hopefully I wasn’t inconveniencing anyone.  
  
While we waited, we listened to a duo preforming love songs to the gathered crowd of café goers; the singer, a Siren, who seemed to be a rather excellent dancer, if a bit lewd, and a Gandharva, who somehow played her stringed instrument without trouble and with a fair bit of passion, surprising, since she had no visible hands, and she couldn't possibly see her instrument past her cleavage. As they played, they were being stalked by a Werecat, moving closer and closer each time they both looked elsewhere, and, once she was close enough, she tackled them both, ending that performance and starting a new one. Maybe she thought they were singing to her? ...Maybe they  _were_? Unsurprisingly, the Siren was rather vocal about the whole affair, so I was happy for Blackberry’s sake we’d finished our waters, and were on our way out.  
  
There was a large party of Witches, Dark Mages, and a Dhampir at a nearby table, I’d avoided their gaze throughout our rest, but... since we were leaving, I felt pretty confident about my safety, and I asked the group a question that had been bothering me.  
  
“Excuse me, ladies?” Giggles, and a Dark Mage stood up.  
  
“Can I help you, sir?” It was very clear how she  _wanted_ to help me, but I knew I was about to throw her off of her groove, so I wasn’t too nervous.  
  
“I was wondering where it was you bought your hats?”  
  
Her expression was priceless.  
  
“Our… hats?”  
  
“Yes, it’s just… I have a wife, a Lich, brilliant with magic, but Lichs never seem to have hats with them when they rise… I was hoping to get her one, as a gift.”  
  
A chorus of “Aawwww”s broke out, both the disappointed kind, and the kind that meant they thought I was the cutest thing.  
  
“That’s really sweet. If you want hats, you gotta shop… um… Hey, Carla? What’s the name of that Hatter over on Missionary?”  
  
“Akubra!” ‘Carla’, I assumed.  
  
“Right,” the Mage continued, “Akubra. Best in the business. Mad as the day is long, but there’s no helping that. Tell her Tracey sent you, you’ll get a price cut, so will I.”  
  
“No, tell her Carla sent you! I was the one who knew her name, don’t steal my discount!”  
  
“Akubra, on Missionary. Tracey and Carla sent me, got it. Thanks, ladies.”  
  
I felt eyes grow on my clothing, on my shoulder blades, making sure we weren’t followed. I patted my leg in thanks, and got a  ~~rumble~~ of joy in response.

 

* * *

 

It wasn’t a difficult place to find. Missionary, and by extension most of the other main streets, led to and from the central ring around the castle district, which meant we were never too far from our house, even at the furthest reaches of the city, and finding Missionary street was as simple as walking along the closest ring until you reached it. Knowing which way to go after that wasn’t as simple, but we were on a walk anyway, and the streets weren’t  _too_  long, so a stroll up and down the length of it wasn’t too arduous.  
  
Identifying the right building was even easier, there was a big sign on a small building which simply read: “Hats”. The building itself had a roof, as most do, but this roof in particular was shaped like a hat itself, wide-brimmed and covered in little flourishes, such as feathers, sequins, buttons, and the like. Peering closer, it appeared it was not a roof at all, but an actual hat, set over the roof such that it encompassed it entirely. Effective advertising.  
  
“Um, Lyle?” Blackberry asked, sounding vaguely concerned.  
  
“Yes?”  
  
“I really don’t think… I can go in there.”  
  
Oh. It was the cave problem again, this time without Beepatrice as the obvious solution. I could hardly leave her here by herself, but… I wasn’t keen to go in alone, either. Maybe this would have to wait.  
  
But then I saw the hat in the window.  
  
It was exactly what I’d been going to order, and more besides, a wide, tall, witch-style hat, dark blue, bordering on black, to match Faust’s cloak. It was ringed by little plush skulls around the brim, except just left of center on the front, where two gravestones were instead, one with ‘Faust’ sewn into it, the other with ‘Lyle’. A small plushy Lich was tucked behind one, holding hands with a plushy Wight, partially hidden behind the other. The gravestones were a cute idea, and I wished I’d thought of them, but seeing something like this casually on display in the window made me very… concerned.  
  
“I… don’t think I can either.” I said, and I looked at Amy, who was looking between me and the hat with alarm.  
  
“Yeah…” She said, “I think we should just…. Go.”  
  
We turned to leave, and I crashed into a woman who had, apparently, been right behind me.  
  
“Oh, hello.” She seemed not at all concerned, speaking  _as_  we fell to the ground, her expression serene, like she often fell to the ground after bumping into strange men, and it was nothing to be troubled about. “How do you do?”  
  
My clothes ~~lashed out~~ , forming tentacles that kept me from landing on her, and pushed me instead back to my feet. I reached down to help her up.  
  
“Akubra, I presume?” She certainly looked the part, well-dressed in greenish blues with diamond pattern, a hat which might or might not be a living part of her head, tiny mushrooms growing out of her body at certain points, eyes that didn’t seem to focus on anything in particular, and a slight smile, like the world was amusing, or fascinating, but she’d grown mostly used to it.  
  
“Yes. Are you here for a hat? I’m afraid I reserve my best for human women, you understand, but we don’t get many in town. It’s very sad.”  
  
Uh huh.  
  
“I… had been thinking about ordering one, yes.” Not much point in lying about that now. Her smile grew a bit, at my admission. “Tracey and Carla said you were the best in town.”  
  
“Best in the business, I believe they said.” Akubra clarified.  
  
Oh, that’s right, they had said that. I nodded. Then I shook my head. I wasn’t getting caught up in this nonsense.  
  
“Look, I think we have to go. We’ve got a long walk home.” I gestured vaguely in the wrong direction.  
  
“But,” Blackberry said, and I turned to look at her, she was pointing the other direction, the correct one, “Our house is that way, near the palace.”  
  
Thank you, Blackberry. “Thank you, Blackberry.”  
  
By the time I turned back, Akubra was exiting her shop, holding the hat I’d seen in the window. Faust’s hat. Amy was blinking her eyes rapidly, as though she’d just seen something unseeable.  
  
“Why don’t you take this with you, then? Consider it a free sample. We can talk about your next order when I drop by for tea.”  
  
I… it’s not like the hat was evil, right? Just… really weird. Wait. “Tea?” She’d said it so matter-of-fact that it’d nearly slipped by. The sky is blue, the weather’s nice, I’m dropping by for tea. It was unsettling how completely  _not_  unsettling the statement was.  
  
“Oh my. You’ve never had tea before, Lyle?” She seemed vaguely affronted, a frown even lighter than her smile had been flitted across her face, only barely discernable, settling into a determined set of her jaw. “I will brew some up special, then.”  
  
That wasn’t what I… Ugh, never mind.  
  
“You can’t just show up at my house uninvited, Akubra.”  
  
“Of course not, Lyle, that would be quite rude. However, I can show up to my house whenever I like.” She smiled again, in a slightly self-satisfied way. Her expression, consistently friendly, also never seemed to have left the ‘explaining something to your dimwitted but beloved friend’ range, even when she frowned.  
  
Okay, true, but… “You don’t live in my house, Akubra.” Again, she had spoken completely matter-of-fact, so blasé that the meaning could easily pass by with your unwitting agreement, even watching for it, it was a little slippery.  
  
She cocked her head to the side. “Are you quite certain? There are many doors in your house, correct? Have you checked them all?”  
  
Uh… well no, but… “That’s not… I mean… You aren’t…” Does she? Oh my lord, I didn’t even check? What if she was some kind of royal house-sitter on the side?  
  
“I see,” she said, gently, and I was quite certain somehow that she did, even though I knew I was confused myself. “So you can’t be certain that I don’t, correct? Perhaps… I have been there all along?”  
  
“Well…” I had no real argument here. It was entirely possible. Way  _too_  possible, in fact. I’d be checking all the doors on my return, assuming I could do so without binding them to me.  
  
“In that case, isn’t it you who’s being rude, trying to lock me out of my home? And after I gave you such a delightful free sample.” The hat, speaking of, had left her hands and wound up in mine at some point while my head was spinning. It really  _was_  delightful. Exactly what I’d planned to order.  
  
“Um, Lyle?” Blackberry again, “I’m confused.”  
  
Me too. “Amy, are you following this?”  
  
“Not at all.” she said, rubbing at her eyes, “I got lost… almost as soon as she started talking. I’m still not sure what I saw when she… Ugh.”  
  
“I guess…” I turned back to Akubra, calling her… bluff? “We’ll see you when we get home?” Assuming you’re telling the truth anyway. No need to tell her she’d be packing her bags, if so.  
  
“Oh, no.” She said, “I’m afraid I’ll be working late tonight. I may not make it home for a while. But if you ever find yourself confused and frustrated, Lyle, I will be here for you.” She took a small cup from her shoulder, where it had been balanced, even when she’d fallen early on, and took a sip from it.  
  
If I ever find myself confused and frustrated, even odds you’re the  _cause_ , Akubra. We left while she was distracted.  
  
...Wait, when did I tell her my name?  
  
  


 

* * *

  
  
  
  
Leaving all of that behind, and not thinking about it too hard, we made our way back towards home, hat in hand. We stopped to trot for a bit in the park ring, which spanned the city, somewhere near the middle, and I rode in Blackberry’s saddle for a time, exhausted. It was shortly after I climbed out again, after we had passed the lake, that I heard it.  
  
“Oh my Lord, you’re perfect!”  
  
Ugh. Another one? I tensed, preparing to evade another tackle from some overzealous woman too lonely for her own good, but the moment never came.  
  
“Um, Lyle?” Looking towards the source of that confused plea, I found that a Demon, a type of Mamono set apart from regular Succubi almost solely by their blue skin and black eyes, was circling not me, but Blackberry, looking for all the world completely enthralled.  
  
“Hi-hi! I’m Abstinence Obscenity Fuck-Parade Magenta, but my friends call me Magenta! And girl, do I ever have an offer for you!” What the hell kind of name is that?  
  
“Your name is… Abstinence?” I asked.  
  
“Ugh, the tag-along. Yes, my name is Abstinence.” She was giving me a dirty look, as though she couldn’t believe I was intruding on her time. “I know it’s kinda gross, but my Mom has a thing for shocking people. It’s not like I picked it.”  
  
“I’ve heard of you,” Amy spoke up, “aren’t you the wet-dream star?”  
  
“Oh? A fan? Yes, yes,” she preened, “I am that Magenta, which of my dreams made you most wet?”  
  
Uh, wow. Now that’s a question. Amy seemed prepared for it though.  
  
“ _Learn to Count and Multiply_  is great, but I like your corruption series best,  _Brash Girl Goes Tame_  is my favorite.” Amy seemed excited, none of her usual reticence was present at all.  
  
“Ah yeah, the Holstaur one, not surprising. That’s pretty popular. She was really spunky, but once she tried that milk, it was all downhill, she got so  _demure_ , and then, once her tits came in, she got  _spunky_  all over again!” Both she and Amy shuddered a little at that. I guess you had to have been there?  
  
“You said you had an offer for Blackberry?” I asked, having used the time where Amy was distracting her to move between Blackberry and Magenta.  
  
“Oh right!” she said, and she tried to move back between me and Blackberry again. “Girl, you have got that  _figure,”_ she made a motion with her hands, miming the Bicorn’s admittedly impressive curves, “and this… innocent vibe I’ve never even seen before! Blackberry, I can make you… a STAR!”  
  
Amy started choking.  
  
Wait. What kind of… not… a  _porn_  star? Blackberry!? No. No. Nononono.  
  
“Uh, I don’t think so.” I said, crossing my arms, making an x shape.  
  
“I wasn’t asking you, cum nozzle, I was talking to the lady.”  
  
Before I had the chance to be offended for being dismissed like that, Blackberry cut in.  
  
“Like… the star of a story? A heroine!?” She asked, a little too eager.  
  
“If that’s what you want, baby, I can hook you up. We got roles for all kinds.”  
  
“Blackberry, sweetheart, I don’t know if you’re ready for this kind of thing…” I said, delicately.  
  
“Lyle, I could be a heroine to some poor, lonely, frightened girl out there! I could be… inspiring!” Her eyes were gleaming, I was losing this argument.  
  
Magenta, for her part, looked smug, and satisfied.  
  
“Blackberry, watch me for a moment, please.” I placed a finger on Amy shoulder. Blackberry started blushing. “Gaze upon me, my love, as I touch a woman, one which I have yet to confess feelings for!” She started breathing heavily, and Magenta was looking confused.  
  
“Oh Lyle, this is so  _filthy_. Out here in the streets? Have you no shame?” Blackberry was working herself up again. We’d be cuddling for sure when we got home.  
  
“What… is going on?” Magenta asked, seeming vaguely unsettled.  
  
It was Amy who answered. “Blackberry is very…  _depraved_  and  _lascivious_. So incredibly  _lustful_ and  _erotic_.” She put as much emphasis on each word as she could, and gestured to my finger, “but, although she’s such a  _degenerate,_  even she can only barely handle displays of carnal desire so powerful and blatant as this.”  
  
I willed Magenta to take the hint. She didn’t.  
  
“I’m not asking too much of her; I just want her to have sex on camera.” Oh yes. Very reasonable.  
  
“Wait,” Blackberry said, “I’m sorry, Lyle’s right. I can’t do that. I can’t get… pregnant. I’m not allowed to have foals.” Wow. Yikes. Well... that’s confirmation she knows what sex  _is_  at least.  
  
“Have foals!? Not allowed!?” Magenta whirled on me instantly, stalking towards me, “What kind of sick lies have you been pumping into her head you twisted fuckstick?”  
  
Amy got in her way, placating; “It’s not like that. Lyle found her like this, we’re working on it.  **Gently.** ”  
  
Magenta was practically frothing, but she’d stopped her advance.  
  
“Actually, Amy,” Blackberry replied, “I’m the one who’s working on Lyle.” She started to whisper, “We cuddled the other day. I couldn’t believe it!” She returned to normal volume, and turned to Abby again. “I’m sorry, but I’m  _Lyle’s_  dirty, filthy girl. I can’t help you.”  
  
“If you’re really a dirty girl…” Magenta said, “then prove it.”  
  
“Uh, what?” Blackberry asked.  
  
“You heard me, you said you’re a dirty, filthy girl, I want proof.”  
  
Blackberry narrowed her eyes, gritted her teeth, and looked around.  
  
She saw her target, she wasn't going to let this challenge go unanswered.  
  
She bent over, cutting a surprisingly striking figure, before righting herself.  
  
“Then watch  _this,_ ” she said, looking Abstinence Obscenity Fuck-Parade Magenta dead in the eye.  
  
Then she dropped the handful of road dust into her own hair.  
  
She shivered.  
  
Although Blackberry was silent, I could still practically hear her say it; “So. Dirty.”  
  
I walked over and gave her a hug. “See?” Blackberry said, brushing some of the dirt into my hair as well, “He can’t resist this.”  
  
Eh. True.  
  
Magenta herself looked torn between declaring Blackberry the cutest thing ever, and giving her an ‘education’ then and there.  
  
“Please,” I mouthed, “gently.”  
  
She looked crossly at me, but nodded. Then she looked thoughtful.  
  
“You know; I think… I think there still might be space for someone as… intense… as you are, Blackberry. …We have a Doppleganger, worse come to worst. I assume the two of you are a package deal?” She gestured at me. I nodded, and she reached out to shake my hand.  
  
“Abstinence Obscenity Fuck-Parade Magenta, Porn Star,” she said, stepping toward me.  
  
“Lyle, former Town Sheriff,” I replied, closing the gap between us more.  
  
“Oh? A sheriff? Sure, I can work with-” we clasped hands, and she stopped talking, eyes widening. “No. Way.”  
  
“What?” The way she was staring at me now, hungrily, it was… somehow different from the usual looks.  
  
“Oh, nothing.” I didn’t buy that for a second, “Say, Lyle, wasn’t it? …Would you be interested in some, ah, private lessons?”  
  
“Um. No? I’m kinda taken? I mean, we’re looking for a Succubus, maybe, and Demons  _do_  qualify, I guess, but we’re planning to do interviews, and…”  
  
She laughed, “No, that’s not quite what I had in mind. I mean, I wouldn’t turn that down, a girl’s gotta eat, but, it’s just… With a little training, a little…  _educating_ , you might be something really special, maybe even… unique.”  
  
What does  _that_  mean? I guess I can’t leave things hanging there. Let her down gently. “Uh, I’ll think about it?”  
  
“You do that.” She smiled at me, and it was startling how her attitude had shifted so quickly. “Here’s my card, it has directions to the studio. Keep in touch~!” She passed said card into my hand.  
  
Then she left.  
  
Huh.

 

 

* * *

 

 

It was an incredibly comfortable space, a little dark, a little musty and earthy smelling, but homey for all that. Shelves filled with books of all sizes littered the walls, apparently written on paper made from stitched-together leaves, and comfortable couches and chairs surrounded an odd, short table. There was a small, plush bed tucked tightly in behind a cluster of shelves, in the back corner of the room, kept from view by the arrangement of the room until you were practically on top of it, with a tiny stove close by. The room was done in earthy tones, mostly darker browns, and had a very ‘underground’ feeling. There were more than a few hints of something else, however.  
  
There was a looking glass on one wall, and it extended all the way up to the ceiling. Following that up with your eyes, past the softly glowing mushrooms growing from the dirt walls that served as the room’s lighting, revealed that the room was much taller than necessary and that the whole room itself was mirrored upside down on the roof, to the finest detail. Not with a mirror, mind you, an exact reproduction, furniture and all, down to the titles on the books, near as my eyes could tell, and even the way the covers on the bed were tucked.  
  
There were hat racks littered across the room, as well, with hats festooning the lot, nary a hook unhung. For all the effort put into bringing the room into a unified feeling, the hats were as varied and colorful as the city itself, expressive without restraint or consideration for their surroundings as they clashed with its cohesive theme. The hat racks were also on the ceiling, but, and somehow this was the most unsettlingly to me, the hats were entirely different, there was not an identical pair in the room, which was the only change between the two ‘rooms’ I could detect.  
  
I moved one of the books off the shelf, putting it down on a table, and looked up. Its mate had settled in the same position as the one I’d just set down. I watched the ceiling carefully as I did the same again, and nothing happened, until I blinked, and the two rooms suddenly matched again, the ceiling having once more changed without apparent assistance. I tried one more time, forcing my eyes to stay open, and once I was satisfied it wasn’t about to move while I was watching, I looked down only to find that the book down here had moved instead, back into place while I’d been staring at its motionless brother high above me. Cheeky.  
  
Here and there, throughout the room, there were otherwise innocuous objects with little handmade tags on them. ‘Read me’, ‘wear me’, ‘drink me’, and so on. I wasn’t dumb enough to follow their advice, but I wasn’t strong enough to avoid imagining what kinds of things might happen if I did. When did I lose my sense of  _wonder_?  
  
Around about the time monsters happened, probably, like the rest of the world. So… before I was born, I guess? That doesn’t seem right. Ugh. Try to keep it together, Lyle, okay?  
  
…None of that was what concerned me most, however. Why was this room  _in my house,_  now that was the question.  
  
“Faust?” I asked, and my voice carried a myriad of questions in that one word. What is going on? Why is this room here? Why didn’t we know about it? How is it doing the thing with the books? Do you want to have sex real quick? How long has this been here? Did  _you_  know about this? And, again,  _what is even happening?_  
  
“Lyle? What precisely is happening? Why is this room here, in our abode? Why didn’t  _I_  know about it? How is it achieving the magical mirroring effect without apparent input? Exactly how long has this been here? Did  _you_  know about this? And, to reiterate,  _what is going on?_ ”  
  
Ah. On the same page, then. Great.  
  
“I was hoping you could tell me, magic lady.”  
  
“I am not a ‘ _magic lady,’_  I am a Lich, Lyle. Correct terminology exists for a reason.”  
  
Yeah, so you can fuss about it when I deliberately get it wrong. Haven’t you realized that yet? It’s literally the best thing.  
  
She continued; “For the room to have reached this level of self-expression, the occupant must have been here for… years at least. If you were to ask me, I would have told you, for example, that the mushrooms were impossible, because the walls could not be made of dirt in the first place. And yet…”  
  
‘And yet.’ That was a good description for this room. It shouldn’t be here, shouldn’t do that, shouldn’t be so comfortable, so friendly feeling… And yet…  
  
“All I know is she said she might have ‘been there all along’. I thought to check to prove her wrong, and it seems like, for some reason, reality is on her side.” I crossed my arms, “I have to be honest, I’m as confused about it as you are.”  
  
I wasn’t telling her about the hat, yet. It was a gift, and ‘hey, wanna investigate our home invasion with me’ was not the right time for  _gifts_.  
  
Speaking of investigation; “Beeps, are you getting anything?” I felt a little stab in my heart as she failed to respond. I kept my voice steady, as I mirrored a variation on a line I’d heard from Sally many a time, “Faust, could you ask Beeps if she’s getting anything?”  
  
“Ah, yes. ‘The first step’; I cannot believe I failed to remember ‘the first step’. Beepatrice, any results?”  
  
“Negative.” Beeps responded, from the doorway, as she didn’t seem to want to enter the room. After a pause, she elaborated.  
  
“Nonsense.”  
  
Well, that’s reassuring.  
  
“Oh.” Sally responded, “That’s somewhat unsettling.”  
  
The irony of  _you_  calling something ‘unsettling’ is so thick I could stab it with the knife you plan to kill me with, my love. Well, assuming she plans to use a knife. Actually, what is the plan there? Maybe I’ll ask her over dinner or something, she seems to find discussing it quite romantic. Later, Lyle. Don’t get distracted in the spooky room.  
  
“I have an idea.” I said.  
  
“Oh?” Faust replied, “Do tell.”  
  
“Let’s leave the room, close the door, lock it, hide the doorway behind a bookshelf, and get everybody to agree to pretend it isn’t here at all unless and until we can’t avoid the topic anymore.”  
  
“…” Faust was speechless at my brilliant suggestion, but Beepatrice walked into the room cautiously, and  _unsteadily_ , and I had never seen her unsteady in anything, before she grabbed the both of us, and dragged us out, doing just that.  
  
  
  


* * *

  
  
  
  
It was late at night, after Blackberry went to bed. Faust, Beeps, Amy, and myself were seated around the table in the central room.  
  
“I admit; I am not certain of the details of her home life.” Faust said, and she looked ashamed, “she always spoke so well of her family, and her reasons for not introducing me bore no examination. I myself did not wish to enter a Mamono village, as a human girl, the harmless nature of Unicorns aside. It seemed unwise. I must wonder, now, if I have failed one of my oldest, dearest friends in my negligence.”  
  
“Sheltered.” Beeps opined.  
  
“She seems so innocent, and… well, I needed that, I think. With the two pillars in my life perverted, I didn’t look too closely at what, in hindsight, seems obviously out of place.” I said.  
  
“I… I thought it might be bad. But this bad? Just from what she said, the way she said it, the certainty… I think it might have been her whole herd in on it.” Amy said.  
  
“Herd?” I asked.  
  
She nodded. “Unicorns tend to live in large groups away from other Mamono, for practical reasons, to protect their chastity, but I’ve never heard of something like… this. “  
  
“I didn’t realize her family was that big,” I said. “No wonder she seems so clingy. Each of us is providing the attention she might normally get from three or more sisters or aunts.”  
  
“We must be prepared, too.” Faust looked stricken. This was hitting her particularly hard. “If she was willing to say such things so casually, there will be more. Worse, likely, though that is difficult to imagine at this stage.”  
  
“Sympathy.” Beepatrice said, and I looked at her, my gut sinking. She had lived that way too, hadn’t she? Sort of, anyway. My ignorance didn’t feel like enough of an excuse for putting her through that.  
  
Faust reached out and held her hand. Beepatrice vented a little steam before she could stop herself, but did not pull her hand away. At least it looked like things were going well there. I’d still be happy when this week was over. But that wasn’t the matter at hand. Get back on track, Lyle.  
  
I forced myself to look at Amy, and she took that as an invitation to speak.  
  
“We should talk to her, obviously, but… what do you think we should say?” She asked. “Even if she believes us the first time we say it, something like this won’t go away for good for… years.”  
  
“A demonstration.” Faust said, inspired, suddenly passionate. “We must simply  _show_  her it does not work that way. I cannot be the one, Lyle, you are not ready, and Beepatrice… she may be infertile. It is impossible for me to say, and she has declined to comment on the matter.”  
  
We looked at Beepatrice. She stayed quiet. We looked back at Faust.  
  
“That leaves you and Amy, Lyle, in case that was unclear. Simply arrange for her to walk in on you two in the midst of your passions.”  
  
I started blushing, and looked away from Faust. Accidentally, I met Amy’s eye, and she looked as panicked as I felt. I desperately looked away from her as well.  
  
“Lyle.” Faust said, “You and Amy  _have_  engaged in coitus, yes? You are not withholding intercourse from  _another_  Mamono, are you?”  
  
“It’s not like that!” I protested, “We’re taking it slow! Getting to know each other!”  
  
I turned back to look at Faust, to stand my ground. She had one eyebrow raised in disapproval. I wilted, a little.  
  
“My love, if I had not been inside your body and felt your desires swell myself I would wonder truly if you were a eunuch. You are better than halfway to being an Incubus and still you restrain yourself? This is farce. Make an honest woman of the nice Holstaur, if you please, I will not have my husband acting so… pathetic.”  
  
Ouch.  
  
“Well?” She said, impatiently, “Are you waiting for a written invitation?”  
  
“What, now?” I yelped, appalled.  
  
“Yes, now, and we will both of us watch to ensure the deed is done. Clearly you cannot be trusted to do these things on your own time, Lyle. If this continues I will be forced to draw up a schedule, and have Beepatrice ensure you keep to it.”  
  
Oh  _no_ , not more of her schedules. Those are a  _nightmare._  
  
I looked at Amy.  
  
She looked at me.  
  
I looked at Amy.  
  
She looked at me.  
  
“Beepatrice, strip them naked and throw them into Lyle’s bed together. The large one, please.”  
  
Wait, no!

 

 

* * *

 

 

 

I’d thought my saving grace for controlling the pace of this situation would be the Shoggoth, which Faust seemed to have already forgotten, her presence a subtle thing, even inside her as I was, inside  _me_  as  ~~she~~  was. True, that was how she liked it, to be unseen and unheard, felt only by me, my little secret, but I couldn’t say I understood it, personally.  
  
Either way, though, once Beepatrice had tossed Amy naked on the bed, she dragged me into the room, and when my clothing proved unwilling to be removed by force, she merely tapped her foot a few times and snapped her fingers. The Shoggoth slid off of, and out of, my body, sulkily lying folded up on the floor. I’m not certain how clothing appeared sulky, exactly, but it certainly had that aura to it. A little forlorn as well.  
  
And wow, I felt really empty. Empty and bad. Did air always taste so foul in my lungs? Was my stomach always so achingly hungry? I’d grown so used to… being with her so quickly. I didn’t even think about her, much, we were hardly separate creatures at all. Half of  _myself_  was lying on the floor, there. It was bordering on painful, not for actual pain, but the sudden lack of constant, consistent, light pleasure that she brought to every inch of me she could reach. Pleasure so natural, so right, so much a part of me since our first moments together, that since we’d rejoined, I’m not sure I’d even thought once about it, though the feelings always bubbled under my surface,  _over_  my every surface, actually. But now they weren’t. It was  _wrong_.  ~~I’ve been cut in half!~~  
  
My torment must have shown on my face, because Beeps reached her hand to my forehead, and Faust looked worried, herself. Or perhaps they were concerned that I fell to my knees and screamed? That might have been it.  
  
She said, “Lyle, are you-”  
  
“ ~~No~~ ,” we said, to Beeps, to Faust, to the universe, as  ~~she~~  flowed back into and over us again, and life returned to the world,  ~~our~~  secret kisses across our  ~~delicious~~  body lulling us back into the feeling of safety and  ~~wholeness~~  we’d come to know and love wholeheartedly, “ ~~we are fine~~.”  
  
I stood back up. “That was… completely fucking wretched, and I’m never doing it again,” I said firmly.  
  
Faust opened her mouth to protest, but in a blink, I was away from the bed, and near the doorway on the other side of the room, having passed Beepatrice. Now, I stood in front of her.  
  
“No, Sally.  ~~Never~~. ~~Again~~.”  
  
She shut her mouth. Good.  
  
I took a deep breath of delicious,  ~~filtered~~  air, and let it back out, my foul mood leaving with it, and walked back to the bed.  
  
“Okay, Amy?” I asked, looking at the naked woman sitting cross-legged on my bed, and even shrunk in on herself, embarrassed and somewhat frightened, the context of the situation and her nakedness made it impossible to focus on her foremost as a person, to ignore how attractive she was sexually; muscular, tall, cute features and freckles, with her eyes wide and innocent looking. She had the face of a shrinking violet, but the body of a life-long athlete.  
  
“Yeah, Lyle? Um, you are… Lyle, right?” That wasn’t unfair, exactly, but I couldn’t help but be annoyed by it, a little. I wish there was a way that I could  ~~show them how this felt~~ , so they’d understand not to be afraid, but I wasn’t giving up my clothing for a moment.  
  
An idle whim shifted my outfit into comfortable, loose pajamas, the full body pleasure now rippling across my body instead, in delightful, surprising waves, while the ‘fabric’ moved as though under a breeze.  
  
“Yes, I’m me, as much as anyone ever is.” I said, “Being apart from her is just… it’s painful. Like the world’s gone rotten. It’s insufferable. I can’t explain it right. Sorry if I frightened you.”  
  
She nodded, slowly. “I think I understand. What was it you wanted?”  
  
“Uh, well… you?” I asked, “Are you okay with that?”  
  
Her face went blank.  
  
“Because… I know Faust is being pushy, but I do like you, and she’s not wrong that it’s unfair for me to be holding back like I have.”  
  
She still didn’t say anything, frozen.  
  
“I mean, if that’s not something you want, then-”  
  
“No, no, no!” She panicked, bursting into motion, waving her arms around erratically, “That’s exactly what I want! Every morning and night! A lot! Um, please.” Then, to herself, more quietly, “Am I… awake, though? Is this really happening? It’s not another Magenta dream… or an early stage nightmare, or…?”  
  
I crawled on to the bed, awkwardly aware of our thankfully silent audience, who had stepped back against the wall, trying to hide, at least a little.  
  
“You really want… me?” she asked, this time at full volume.  
  
“Yeah. Sorry it took so long to stop being such a jerk about it.”  
  
“It’s fine! It’s really, really fine! This is the best thing that’s ever happened to me!” She really was kind of cute, in an awkward, endearing way, wasn’t she?  
  
I chuckled, “We haven’t even started yet, Amy.”  
  
“I know,” she said, eagerly, excitedly, “but so far it’s just like I’ve been imagining you’d do it when I touch my-” she trailed off, eyes wide, and then she blushed beet red, hiding her face in her hands.  
  
Okay, I admit, that made me pause, my advance on her halting for only the briefest moments.  
  
She peeked through her fingers, and saw that I’d slowed. She whispered, “No, please don’t hate me…”  
  
My eyes widened, “Hate you, Amy, I’m about to fuck you! I don’t  _hate_  you.” I started moving again, and she laid back, as I brought myself over her. Wow she made me feel small. “I was just a little surprised at your… honesty. That’s all.” Not every day someone says ‘I think about you when I touch myself.’ Even Faust only  _implied_  that, if I recall correctly.  
  
She didn’t seem to believe me, though, her face still hiding in her hands, muttering “No, no, no, you ruined it, Amy, you ruined it!”  
  
Luckily for me, even  _I_  knew what you were meant to do with an upset Holstaur. I sat down on her stomach, her abs having little give, but providing a solid seat.  
  
Then I touched her breast.  
  
Her hands flew from her face, slamming down into the bed with force that made me glad I wasn’t in their path, gripping the sheets, as her body squirmed under me, her eyes locking onto mine, with her pupils dilated to the point her blue irises were practically invisible. She was looking at me like I was the only thing in the world.  
  
Huh. So this is how that feeling looks from the other end.  **I like it.**  
  
“Aaaaaaahhh…” she moaned, softly. I wasn’t even moving my hand, just resting it there. Wow. Now this is what power feels like.  
  
I shifted a finger, just one, across her nipple, and her whole body bucked wildly into the air. I latched my legs around her while we were up, I’d likely need it to stay steady. I felt my outfit flow together, connecting my legs and also filling the little gaps between myself and Amy, sealing me in place.  
  
 **Mine.**  
  
“Oh? Do you like that, Amy?” I teased, “I can keep going if you want~”  
  
She didn’t respond, couldn’t, really, but her mostly empty, pleasured gaze filled with ecstasy at the idea, and her open-mouthed grin was all the confirmation I needed.  
  
I put the other hand down.  
  
“ **OH FUCK**!” she bellowed. Her lungs were, in truth, the same as Fran’s, and therefore were capable of the same shattering volume and presence, at least when she forgot herself.  
  
I meant to make her forget everything but my name.  
  
I moved my hands, both at the same time, keeping the touches light, despite her frenzied efforts to thrust her chest against them, and I noticed that  ~~our~~  tentacles were restraining her hands, keeping her from interfering, forcing a rougher pace. Thanks, sweetie.  
  
She  ~~pulsed~~ , in response, but Amy felt it too, clearly, from the satisfied screaming she let out. I looked behind me, curiously, and we were pleasuring her with  ~~ourself~~. Focusing on it, I could feel it too. ‘Okay, but no penetration,  ~~we want to do that~~  myself’. We  ~~pulsed~~  again, in agreement.  
  
“Amy, sweetheart, how are you doing?”  
  
She let out a pleased burbling noise, all spit and no substance, the drool rolling down her chin.  
  
“Good, good” I said, delighted, exultant, “That’s perfect.”  
  
Are you watching, Faust? This is what you’re passing up. This is how I could make  _you_  feel.  
  
Actually, back to Amy, I was a little nervous she might drown herself, if she kept salivating like that. Let’s… help her out a little.  
  
I lifted my hands, and she had just enough time to look around vaguely confused before I dropped my body down onto her, grinding my bare chest against hers. I slid my hands behind her back, under her neck, taking control of her head, bringing her face to my own.  
  
“Lyle, Lyle, Lyle…” she breathed, only audible from this close to her mouth.  
  
“Hi sweetheart,” I responded, before delving deep into her mouth with my tongue, mapping it’s contours with my flesh. Huh. No canines. “How are we doing? Still on track with your fantasies?”  
  
She just groaned, in response. Fair enough. The kisses continued, and if her mouth tasted a bit like dairy, well, that may have just been my imagination.  
  
Eventually, though, I’d had enough foreplay.  
  
Time to get serious.

 

 

* * *

 

 

 

 

If I was being honest with myself, I was nervous about this. I was putting it off for a lot of reasons, all small and petty, but even a petty army is still an army. The main one, though, the leader of my whiny legion, was pretty straightforward. I was reluctant to make an addict of myself, yet again, this time by explicit choice. I’d done so already, with the prisoner fruits, true, but they were no person, just objects, no one I'd become dependent on, for all that their taste reminded me of Faust.

This was taking a choice I’d so far been refused the chance to make, and saying ‘yes, this is the choice I’d have chosen, regardless’. I was happy how things had ended up with Beeps, with Faust, with my Shoggoth, and even with Blackberry, to some extent, but this was  _my_  choice. Faust had tried to force my hand, as she often did, but I’d just proved, with my Shoggoth’s help, that I was a match for her myself now. She couldn’t make my decisions for me anymore, which was both liberating, and frightening. I relied on her to push me outside my comfort zone, to kick me into motion when I was stuck considering, and forgetting to actually act.

A part of me just wanted to go back to when things were simpler, just go with the flow, but I couldn’t. I had to act. I had to be myself, my own person, or else I’d just crawl into Faust’s lap and never  _really_ crawl back out.

For at least the time being, I didn’t have Beeps to take this choice from me either, by removing my responsibility to act myself, by being more capable, a better person for the job, than I could ever be. Allowing me to act by proxy. If I didn’t fuck Amy myself, it was very possible no one ever would. I couldn’t believe someone so sweet and thoughtful had been unwanted for such paltry reasons, but the truth was plain to see in her eyes even now. At least, in her brief, lucid moments. That this was really happening,  _happening to her_ , baffled her. She didn’t think she deserved to be loved.

I disagreed.

I’d asked myself, a while back; ‘what did I want to want?’ What kind of person did I want to be? Was I selfish? Would I back off, probably ruining a beautiful woman forever, but keeping a part of myself that I could admit that I treasured, my dreams of life as something of an individual? The others, for all their foibles, were not so demanding on me as this would quickly become.

Or did I want to make sad, lonely, strange people happy? Make them smile, like I wanted to smile? To do the 'right thing'? Was I the kind of kid who saw a crowd of other children making fun of the new, weird, loud, annoying girl that I didn’t even like, when we were learning to swim, the sort who’d decide the best course of action, the best way to solve it, was to punch the ringleader right in her smug stupid face, and start yelling at the rest as she fell to the ground?

_‘Yeah!? You think it’s ugly? You think **she’s**  ugly? Well I like it! I think it looks like an ice cream cone! And I like ice cream! I like her too! So there!’_

Yeah, I guess that isn’t much of a question at all, is it?

The look on her face as I penetrated deep inside her with a practiced motion was instantly rapturous, and the feeling of her fleshy folds constricting, her body tightening around me, it was beyond honest comparison, though I could always try. Where Beepatrice had been smooth, artificial, Amy was slightly uneven, almost textured, though pliable, and completely organic in an undeniable way. Where Faust’s mouth had delighted, as her tongue and cheeks desperately attempted, but ultimately failed, to cradle me completely, Amy’s vagina had no such difficulties, and was all the more incredible for it. It was amazing. I’d say something like, it’s almost like she was designed for it, but… that would be stating the obvious.

It  _was_  a little odd, all the hair on her legs, her fur, really, but she kept the area around her pussy clear, somehow, probably to keep underwear more comfortable, so it’s not like it was in the way. It was actually a little cute seeing her all shaved up, with tiny black and white hairs only just starting to grow again. It was sort of like… she was wearing fluffy pajama pants, and I’d just pulled them down  _just_  far enough to have a little fun. I’ll just think of it like that until I get used to it.

Oh, lord, ugh… she’s so fucking  _tight…_  Aaaaahhh…

Hah… hah… Mmm…

…With our coupling, my thrusts, going in and out, her energy started to flow into me in earnest, a rush of cool yet hot, slippery yet sticky, liquid and ethereal yet solid and more real than anything in the world, it was always all of these things, in my experience, but the parts of it that were uniquely Amy shined brightest. The way the energy fumbled awkwardly, uncertainly, as it settled into my body, almost asking for permission out of disbelief, the way it cuddled up against me like a warm soft hug, like it was grateful just to be in the room with me, the slight craving for dairy, and the way my eyes felt led to her chest by how the energy ‘leaned’ as it joined with my spirit.

I licked my lips, but held back. Once I put my face against her chest, there was no chance I’d keep control of the pace, I’d go under as deeply as she had. If only she weren’t so tall, her chest wouldn’t be where my head would naturally settle as we lay together with our bodies joined. But… once I did give in… I bet that’d seem really convenient…

The strength in my arms buckled, a little, though my slow, considered thrusts kept pace. I nearly fell into her despite my efforts. The way her scent had changed, was changing, or my perception of it, anyway, was so enticing. Her sweat, her skin, the small traces of white cream on the tips of her breast… it had gone from ‘another person in the room’ to ‘my favorite person in the room’ and it was only getting more potent. Mamono biology sure loved its sexy scents. Though, I was glad that if I was going to spend the rest of my life drinking from someone’s tit, that they at least smelled so delightful.  _Most_  of it seemed to be coming from her breasts, actually, and…

Oh, I see what’s going on here, I’m being led by the nose, and quite literally. Mmmm. I don’t mind, though~

“Please…” She said, her first words in a while, “Milk… me…”

Hahaha, someone’s getting impatient. I wonder if she even knows she’s saying that, or if that need is just so deeply a part of her, body and soul, that she’ll beg for it without even being able to think? It… might be fun to find out for myself, later. …Fine, fine, either way, I’ll stop teasing you.

My forehead came to rest just under her collar bone, and my lips wrapped around her nipple without my input. I’d wanted to kiss, to play, to lick her a bit first, get her ready, lead up to it…

But I was sooooooooo thirsty.

The soft, deliberate, gentle pace I’d been enforcing collapsed immediately, her arms breaking free and pressing my face deeper into her chest, and I was so, so grateful for the help, I couldn’t get close enough alone. Our lovemaking turned instantly into animalistic fucking, as we frantically slammed into one another, my own need finally echoing her own.

My legs had had to move to start this perfect process, so she wrapped hers around me, instead, ensuring I couldn’t leave her if I wanted to, but that hadn’t crossed my mind.

There was nothing in my mind, anymore, after all. My head was for one thing.

Drinking her milk.

My lips, I’d used them for talking all my life, for kissing, for eating, all training for this moment, to be able to keep the muscles healthy for when I had to, when I got to, when I was _allowed and honored_ to tease this liquid from my lover. My eyes, I didn’t even need them, practically vestigial, they stayed closed, and I couldn’t see anything anyway, pressed as I was against her chest,  _as I should be._  My nose? It was for this, and this alone, to know the scent of my Amy, to discern her from the pale imitations the others in her species represented with their foul liquids, and only then if I was misfortunate enough to be torn away from her in the first place. My ears, they took in the wet, sloppy noises, the sound my tongue made as it lapped at this fantastic ambrosia, heard the torrent of her body finally released, her gratified, joyful screams, my reverberant, growling fulfillment, and nothing else. My skin, to feel this connection between us, to suss out how to best move from one perfect breast to the other with the least delay.

My head was for milk. That was how I liked it.

I drank, and drank, and drank some more. When I thought I would burst, I kept drinking. When I thought for sure she’d run dry, I kept drinking. I never reached the end.

Instead, the next morning, I woke up, with my beautiful wife in my arms, and had a little breakfast.

She awoke with a smile on her face, matching the one in my heart.

 

 

 

* * *

 

**Interlewd - Service is its Own Reward**

* * *

 

 

Having lain with the Holstaur myself, I knew her to be a satisfying woman, but did  _I love you_ Lyle truly need to make such…  _noises_? I’d promised my beloved I would watch to ensure he did things properly… but I took no joy in seeing two that I cared for care for each other, since I was decidedly not involved. At least I was not alone in this feeling.  
  
Beepatrice had taken the excuse that I’d provided her to watch over her Master with the gusto I’d expected, she’d reached for my hand as I whispered to her, “It is okay to gaze upon him, Beepatrice, I’d promised that we would.”  
  
But her grip only tightened, becoming less comforting and more painful, her adorable steam fading to nothing, as  _I love you_ Lyle forgot we were in the room. In the beginning, it was clear he was aware of us, from his awkward motions, but as Mamono tend to do, even accidentally, Amy ensnared her future husband with her energies, slowly but surely, and we left his mind.  
  
It was true that he was binding her to himself, and so to me, to all of us, making her trustworthy, a true companion, but it was still all I could do not to throw out my magical aura, command both of their attentions, demand their affections. To be so  _alone_  in a room that my beloved was sharing with me, to be completely outside his notice…  
  
The strength of my grip matched Beepatrice’s.  
  
Would that I could trust her to soothe this ache in my heart, but I could not request such a thing. Could not demand it. Could not manipulate the situation in that direction, or she would be freed. I could not toss away the chance to deepen our connection for momentary comforts. If she had not yet come around to my growing affections for her… I would not get this opportunity again, that it had come around this once at all was only because  _I love you_ Lyle failed to consider how it would be for him to be separate from her in the heat of the moment. His reluctance to lie with Mamono aside, he did not often repeat such mistakes. I would not devote myself to a simpleton.  
  
Even there, I could not say I failed to understand his position. I’d thought him silly, at first, cute, as he fumbled to try to avoid us all this time, from the field to the cave, and finally to our home… but I had forgotten what it was to be human, had become Mamono in truth. It took only seeing how the Shoggoth broke him to remind me, but by then it was too late. Now it seemed to have progressed further still, he and she were inseparable. It had required his cooperation to remove her the first time, and the second was only due to the authority he had bestowed upon Beepatrice. Those avenues were closed now. Although I was sure she would still obey Beeps’ command,  _I love you_ Lyle’s own words would still be her highest concern.  
  
‘Never again’, he’d said. I believed him.  
  
We were lucky that she seemed to lack any ambition beyond what she’d already achieved.  _I love you_ Lyle’s body was her body, too, his mind her mind. If she’d had such goals, he’d share them now. But there seemed to be nothing. Nothing except the frightening instinctual talent on display with tentacles and eyes and  _mouths_ , moving through the room by flinging limbs and sliding his body along through them, as though he’d been slime himself from birth. And only then when he felt threatened. It all seemed beneath his notice, not worth comment.  
  
She was little more than a fancy outfit, and seemed happy to remain as such. Thank the Lord. If it had been the Succubus, whoever she ended up being, that broke him that way, in my incaution, we would likely have never seen him recover at all.  
  
I had pushed for this creature’s inclusion. I had done this to him.  
  
It was my fault.  
  
But how did I apologize? How could I? He saw her as himself, it was too late to say ‘I’m sorry’ for that, it would go unappreciated, perhaps even be taken as an attack.  
  
My tear ducts caught my notice. They were leaking. I canceled the reaction. I was above such things.  
  
Beepatrice wiped away my few stray tears with her hand, I had turned towards her, unawares. I could no longer bear to watch. She too, looked at me.  
  
“It is my fault, Beepatrice. The Shoggoth, I mean.” My breath hitched, “I am to blame, and I cannot fix it.”  
  
I ached to pull her in for a hug, I needed that comfort. I would not get it. I did not deserve it.  
  
I still fantasized, however, imagined that  _she_  chose to wrap her arms around me, to hold me, to stoke my back as I sobbed.  
  
“Blameless,” she lied to me, in my head, my daydreams, “Unpredictable.”  
  
I wept into her illusory neck, how I hated that she was taller than I, and when my desperate fantasies reached their most pitiable, I even dared ponder the taste of her lips on my own, her oily, metallic flavor, so unlike anything I’d ever sampled…  
.  
.  
.  
But…  
.  
.  
.  
Then how could I imagine it?  
  
I opened my eyes, to my shock, it was no fantasy! A delighted laugh escaped me, and I furiously pressed against her, oh how I had yearned for this day. Even back when we were rivals, the chance to ‘compete’ for  _I love you_ Lyle’s affections in front of him was a frequent subject of my dreams. Ever had the female form held more sway over my mind.  
  
But then she pulled away. What? No, please… I need this, need you!  
  
“Freedom.”  
  
My mind froze. A trick. It had been a  _trick_! The moment I did more than reciprocate I broke my word. That bitch! That TRAITOR!  
  
She slapped me backhanded across my face, and hard. I went flying across the room. I got up, summoning my eldritch powers, readying myself for combat… and took a bullet to the chest.  
  
Ah. Shit.

  
  
-

  
  
  
I awoke, tied down to my own bedframe. Beepatrice had placed herself upon my stomach, and I noticed, in her hair, a sort of static quality I had last seen before this started. She had shocked herself again. She was completely free.  
  
“Sally.”  
  
No point in rudeness now. I was not capable of defeating her. Face fear with grace. “Beepatrice.”  
  
“I,” she poked a finger into my naked chest, hard enough to bruise a mortal woman, “belong to Lyle. Lyle is my Master.”  
  
“Yes,” I replied. Though I knew she was upset, I did not attempt to apologize. I refused to regret the choices that took me closer to harmony with my beloved. Bringing an end to our feud was an important step. If I died again here, then I did so knowing I had tried my best.  
  
“You,” and again she prodded me, “are not Lyle.”  
  
“No,” I said, “I am not.”  
  
“You,” once more, she pressed her finger into me, “are not my Master.”  
  
“…No” I ground out, somewhat mournfully, “I am not.”  
  
“I,” and she repeated herself, pressing again into me, the pain having worsened some each time, “belong  _with_  Sally. Sally is my lover.”  
  
…What?  
  
“We,” she said, “are equals. No more fighting.”  
  
…What!?  
  
She spun around fluidly on my stomach, backing up in the same motion, presenting herself to me. She bent over, and proceeded to eat me out with no fanfare.  
  
…WHAT!?  
  
Confusion echoed across my mind, and of course, arousal as well, but as a Lich, I could think clearly even as she taught me precisely how amateur Lyle’s attempts at this had been. Were we truly… Was she truly…?  
  
Her mechanical vagina dripped and pulsed, its sweet oily scent calling out for my attentions as she thrust it closer to my face.  
  
Perhaps…  
  
Perhaps this was not so terrible an outcome after all.  
  
I reached with my neck, licking barely at her sculpted folds, but even with my elongated tongue, she remained mostly out of reach. I strained at my bonds, aching to fulfill my wildest dreams, but held back by expert knot work, and an unwillingness to destroy my bed in my haste to break my constraints.  
  
I see. If I am to be free, I must ask Beepatrice. Must beg for that which I denied her. Perhaps not quite forgiven after all. But when my punishment is so… exquisite… perhaps that is not entirely unendurable.  
  
My tongue darted back and forth, spelling out my apology into her false flesh, begging for freedom with words written in saliva. Pleading to service her as she serviced me, to be her equal in submission to each other. To make that damnable statue both true, and false, in a single act.  
  
My lover did not deny me.

 

* * *

**Contact with the Enemy**

* * *

 

 

Walking in on Faust and Beeps in bed together was… a surprise. Beepatrice gave a stiff wave from the bed, as she didn’t actually sleep. She didn’t seem distressed, but her face was once more expressive. The slight glow she emitted when looking at me would have been indication enough alone that she’d been shocked again.  
  
“Beeps, are you… she didn’t…?”  
  
“I am free, but by deception.” She admitted sheepishly.  
  
I scowled. “Beeps. That’s not right.”  
  
“Master… She was undermining my feelings for you. I… enjoy serving you more than you know, and… it seems that when I have two Masters…”  
  
I latched onto only one of the complicated thoughts that revelation brought to mind.  
  
“Enjoy… how?” I asked, eyebrow raised, suspicion in my voice.  
  
“…Sexually?” Beeps said, almost asking, and doing her best to look cute and innocent, and with Faust asleep on top of her, cuddled in like with a stuffed animal, it was easy for her to do.  
  
I pinched my nose, bowing my head and closing my eyes. Then I sighed. I might have known. Honestly, it explained a lot, but couldn’t something just be pure for once? Innocent?  
  
“Okay, Beeps. That’s fine. I wish you’d told me sooner, though. So you broke free because you were developing feelings for Faust?”  
  
She nodded. “Your stated goal was for me to come to appreciate her. I allowed it to get as far as I judged it could before effecting my service to you. She is… not without her charms. Studying her as I do you, I believe I see in her what you do, now. We have put our differences aside. And… she is fun to tease.”  
  
That made me laugh. She  _was_  fun to tease.  
  
“So…” I said, casually, “I see you’ve gone and shocked yourself again.”  
  
“Does that…” she asked, vulnerable, and looking more so lying there, completely harmless, “displease you?”  
  
“If you’re happy, Beeps, I’m happy. Seeing your face light up when I come in the room is cute. It will take some getting used to, but… You do so much for me, I can do this for you.”  
  
“Oh, thank you, Master! My love for you is without limit. Please, allow me to prove it. May I do anything to service you?”  
  
I grinned. “Service, eh? We had talked about that, hadn’t we? You needing more energy, I mean. Get over here. I want to fuck you.”  
  
Her eyes lit up, literally. She darted into motion, roughly shoving Faust off of herself, the poor girl making startled noises, and looking around.  
  
“Huh? What? Who?” Not much of a morning person, Faust. She never was, even before she started sleeping like the dead. Heh.  
  
Beepatrice spared her no second glance, dashing towards me with purpose. The sensual way her hips swayed as she moved quickly pulled me back into synchronicity with her despite our time apart.  
  
My clothing slid apart, granting access to… uh, my dick, I guess. I still wasn’t  _quite_  used to this, but I was still much closer to harmony with their desires than I’d been at the start. The desires of my  _wives_. I shuddered. I was so  **lucky**.  
  
It had stopped being a frightening journey, the distance between us, between our libidinousness, now feeling more awkward and inconvenient than anything. At some point, sometime before my night with Amy, I’d become fully committed, even in my deepest places, and that delicious experience last night had merely opened my eyes to that fact. Faust had been right; the way I’d been carrying on was ridiculous. I’d chosen this, at multiple times and in multiple ways across the past week and a half, and playing at reluctance was only hurting those who relied on me. Now, it was simply a matter of diving deeper and deeper still until I hit the depths of the carnal lifestyle.  
  
Until I was a monster too.  
  
Beepatrice leapt at me, joy in her eyes, arms spread wide, and I caught her from the air, spinning her once around the room, laughing. It felt good to let go.  
  
I grabbed her tightly against me, and leapt back slightly, off the ground. We fell backwards through the air, and her eyes widened, briefly.  ~~Then we landed in a bed made just for us to share.~~  Oily and dark, the covers roiled over us, and I felt it as  ~~we squirmed~~  through Beeps’ every inner working.  
  
She let out a  _shameful_  moan.  
  
Hehehe. “What’s the matter, Beeps? I thought you wanted me inside you?”  
  
Her tongue lolled out, licking at empty air in lieu of a reply, and her eyes were swimming, vacant. Her body bucked, and best of all, it twitched  _arhythmically._  Offbeat. Skipping gears.  ~~We~~  smoothed things over, as  ~~I flowed~~  inside her. There was no harm done to the intricate machinery of the one I treasured.  
  
“Feels good, right?” I asked, our faces close together, my words more breath than sound.  
  
She nodded, slowly, continuing her soft moans. Making even someone like her lose composure, ah, it satisfied like nothing else. My time with Amy taught me how much I  _enjoyed_  this, the more aggressive role, and while I’d always prefer falling under their sway when we were together even more, there was no harm starting things off a bit different, now and then.  
  
I slid the other part of myself in, the part she  _needed_ , and her noises got more intense.  
  
“Aaahh… Ahhhh! Oh Lyle… MaaaaassssteEEerr!” I’d seen Beeps off her stride a few times since we’d started this journey together, but being the one taking her there myself was  _magical._  I increased the pace. While her movements were by no means bestial, not like the intensity of the sex I’d had last night, for Beepatrice, even a human-like, natural motion was much more depraved than her robotic flawlessness. We fucked like husband and wife, not man and machine. It was glorious.  
  
Eventually, though, my questing  ~~tendrils~~  found what I was searching for, her steam production centers. I stimulated them, rubbing and teasing at the metallic walls, and she obliged me, delivering that delicious scent unto me, and taking a bit of the control back.  
  
I felt myself loosen, my muscles relax, as that familiar pleasant haze slid into my mind again. She was just so  _pretty_. I let her take the lead, pushing me further and further back into her symphonic melody, and I came into her at her direction, on her cue, as I was meant to and not before.  ~~My tendrils~~  swayed, guided as well, a part of myself truly, deeply  ~~subordinate~~  to her, a mere instrument in her hand to play as she pleased.  
  
I took the time to worship her new additions, her soft nipples and pliant pussy, touched and caressed with feathery care, and I licked aggressively, kissing and tasting her along her tan lines, the ones I could reach, anyway, eyes kept shut, showing her just how much attention I’d payed to  _exactly_  where they were since she’d done them. Oh yes, Beeps, I’d been looking,  _staring_ really, and every moment I could get away with it. See how much I appreciate you and what you do for me? No action you take on my behalf goes unnoticed.  
  
Soon enough, though, we brought our time together to a close. There was no urgency to it now, no need to go for hours on end, we were going to be with each other  **forever**. We could afford to take it slower.  
  
I lifted her off me once it was clear she was done, and we stood, as the bed tilted us back to our feet. I set her down, and as  ~~we~~  flowed out of her, she slowly slid to the floor, lying there on her stomach.  
  
“You okay there, Deputy?” I asked, a smile in my voice. She had a cute butt.  
  
“…Digesting,” she said, but there was a sarcastic undertone to it, a hint of ‘you know what you did’. Fair enough, I certainly did at that.  
  
“As you were, then.”  
  
I looked around the room, Faust was there, pretending to have been ignoring us, doing things that looked science-y over at one of the tables. I’d seen her watching though, and our performance hadn’t been unappreciated.  
  
“Ah, Lyle,” she said, “I am attempting to create an electrical module for Beepatrice, so she can activate her ‘charged’ state at will. A worthwhile endeavor, I think, though appropriate sizing will take time.”  
  
That was a good plan, but her dialogue did not slow my casual stride toward her. Her back was turned to me, and  ~~we~~  were silent, so she was unaware of our approach.  
  
“As well, Beepatrice and I have reached an accord. I think things shall be much more cordial going forward.”  
  
Given how contentedly you were wrapped around her, I think ‘cordial’ is an understatement, I think she took you to the edges of your imagination. What did you learn about yourself, I wonder, that has you trying to hide it from me? I moved closer.  
  
“We have finished work on the necklaces as well, and-”  
  
I put a hand on her shoulder, and she jumped, I took the opportunity to spin her to face me.  
  
With the sternest look I could muster, I said; “You’ve been skipping meals, Sally.”  
  
I lifted her up, and tossed her back on the bed, an echo of the last time I was here.  
  
“I’m not letting you starve yourself anymore.”  
  
“Lyle, I-” She said, looking up at me as I climbed over her, her face heating up, her eyes dilating.  
  
“I want you, Faust. I want you  _every morning_ , understand? Wake me up if you have to. I know it’s embarrassing, but this is important. You. Need. To. Eat.” I ran my fingers across her cheek, gently. “Okay?”  
  
She nodded, slowly, before placing her head where we both wanted it to be, and getting to work.

 

 

* * *

 

 

 

My morning ‘chores’ taken care of, I found Amy dressed for a run. She really did go every morning, huh? I nuzzled up against her as greeting, burying my face in her sweater. She let out a very tiny ‘moo’ which I politely didn’t comment on. I pulled away before we could start anything, but the confused happiness she had on her face was all I needed.  
  
“Morning, Amy,” I said, casually, “How’d you sleep?”  
  
“Meep.” She said, quietly. Ah, I see. Nervous again.  
  
“You know, I slept pretty well, myself…” I trailed off, “I had the prettiest girl in bed with me, I could hardly believe my luck.”  
  
She blushed, hands clasped together at her waist, looking down, which given her height, really probably brought me into view better, rather than doing much to avoid my gaze.  
  
“And nice, warm milk always lulls me to sleep so effectively… It’s one of the things I miss most about my hometown, you know? Stable access to produce…”  
  
She shifted her hips, stomping her foot. “Stop,” she whispered.  
  
…What?  
  
“Amy, what’s wrong?” I asked, taking a step towards her.  
  
“I… I’m addictive. My milk… You shouldn’t have any more. You’ll start to  _need_  it. I thought, I thought I could do this, but you're so nice... I can't make you need me that way...”  
  
Oh. That’s… a lot to process, but I can’t really afford to pause here. We’re back to crisis time, my old vacation home.  
  
“You know how I got into this, Amy?”  
  
She looked up, eyes wet. Aww, sweetie…  
  
“Beeps and I, we had sex in a clearing. A field of flowers, real romantic. All my life, I’d looked at her without really  _seeing_  her, and when Faust came to us, recontextualized things for me, I… looked again, and I liked what I saw there. I threw my life away for her. It was hard, but today, I don’t have any regrets.”  
  
She looked confused.  
  
“I couldn’t live without Beepatrice if I tried, Amy. I’m an addict.”  
  
Her eyes widened.  
  
“Faust, now Faust I’ve loved for years. She and I were always going to be together, once she finally got around to it. When I thought she was dead… I started shutting down. I can’t live without her either. She’s got this… mad plan to kill me, and raise me up again as her zombie wife,  _and I’m still here._  Amy, I’m an addict.”  
  
“That’s not-”  
  
I continued, “I met this woman, in the forest, she called herself Raspberry. She was the cutest damn thing I ever saw, and she  _remade_  herself for me. I am never going to let her regret that choice, no matter what. I couldn’t live with myself if I abandoned her. Amy,  _I’m an addict._ ”  
  
“Lyle, I-”  
  
“So,” I said, “When you look at me and say; ‘Lyle, be careful, I’m dangerous, I’m addictive…’”  
  
I took a step forward, and my feet slid across the ground, gaining on her even as she tried to stay out of reach.  
  
“Amy, I already know that, and I’m  _excited_.”  
  
“No. No, stop lying,” she said, fists clenched at her sides, eyes closed. “You don’t want me, you can’t. No one does, I’m not  _worth it_.”  
  
Ah. Something tougher, something deeper. Blackberry wasn’t the only one who’d suffered, was she, Amy?  
  
“You really think that? Even after last night, after what we shared? That no one could ever want you?” I asked, “Fine. Then prove it. Come with me.”  
  
I grabbed her by the hand, pulling her along back into Faust’s room. Faust and Beeps were making out as I burst through the door.  
  
Hot.  
  
“Sorry to interrupt, girls. Faust, I need those necklaces.”  
  
She tried to stand up from where she was seated on her bed, but it seemed Beeps was the one in the leader’s role, and she wasn’t letting go. Faust blushed, trying to act like she’d meant to stay seated.  
  
“Whatever could you need those for, Lyle?”  
  
“Amy thinks I don’t want her; thinks I don’t care. I want to prove her wrong, show her how it feels to look at her.”  
  
Her eyebrows raised. “Are you sure… that is... as clever as you think?”  
  
“Well,” I said, “Since this time I’ll actually know what I’m getting into, and since Holstaur don’t  _need_ spirit energy, and since tempting her to fuck me is the  _point_ ,” and since I want to  **finally**   _try_  it, “ **and**  as you claim to have fixed them so I won’t get swept away… Yes, yes I’m sure. Unless you aren’t confident in your own work…?”  
  
She frowned. “No, of course it will function properly. I have ironed out the issues masterfully. I am a genius.”  
  
“What… what are you guys talking about?” Amy asked, alarmed.  
  
“Faust made necklaces that can switch two people’s bodies when worn. We’re going to put them on, and I’m going to show you  _just_  how attractive you are, first hand.”  
  
“What? No!” She said, spluttering, “That’s crazy! It’s impossible!”  
  
“I’ve done it, it works.” A bit better than maybe it should, but it works. “If you really don’t want to, all you have to do is admit how attractive you are.”  
  
“No! I’m not… I mean…” She was reeling under the pressure. I’d learned this tactic from Faust. That girl knows how to get what she wants. I was worried though, if she chose to let Fran out instead of playing along… I needed to keep her off balance.  
  
“If that’s true, then it should be easy to spend five minutes in my body not having sex with yourself. So… prove it.”  
  
Faust was looking at me in awe. That’s right girl, I watch you too. It’s not just Beeps who has my attention. I’ll figure you out yet. We  _will_  be together, just you wait.  
  
Amy, meanwhile, looked determined. “If it means I can save you from my milk,” Faust scoffed, and I smiled at her; I know, right? “then fine, I’ll prove it!”  
  


 

-

  
The first thing I noticed was the scale. Faust was only slightly smaller than me, but Amy was several feet taller. Everything was so  _small_. I was sitting on the couch in the main room, where we’d decided to stage this. The room was full, though only Amy and I were the focus at the moment. Faust and Beeps of course, but even Blackberry was here as well. There wasn’t any avoiding it, and we  _had_  meant to put on a show for her, so…  
  
She’d seemed interested in the idea of the necklaces, excited, but I was willing to bet I’d want a break between switches, so I hadn’t committed to anything.  
  
I wasn’t going to try to stand, I had agreed with Amy on only a limited time, and fumbling around was a bad use of it. I did stomp my hoof, though, to get a feel for it. It was bizarre. Like standing on my fingernails, almost.  
  
Amy came to shortly after, the rest period required by the switch having been much lessened. We were only out for a few minutes. Putting yourself back into your own body was instantaneous, but convincing your sense of self to go hang out outside your body took time, apparently, it was also faster if you knew it was going to happen, which explained why Faust had had time to prepare things when  _we’d_  switched.  
  
I watched as Amy moved my head around the room, looking at all the sights, his cheeks flushing as he glimpsed Faust and the others.  
  
“ **Amy** ,” I said, and my deep but feminine voice, somewhat smoky, or sultry, rumbled out of my chest, shaking it a little. Woow. That was  _nice_. Not the same as whatever the hell Faust had apparently done to herself, but… It demanded my attention, for sure. I walked around all the time, with my parts in a wrap, completely unaware of them most of the time. I doubt Amy  _ever_  entirely ignored this feeling, only controlled it as it waxed and waned.  
  
Amy’s attention focused on my breasts as well. We’d had Faust remove Amy’s clothes while we were switching, since she was too embarrassed herself. My nipples hardened further as I literally  _felt_  her gaze rest on them. I thought they’d been hard before, holy shit.  
  
“ **Aaah**.” I said, and my voice again shook my body. Mmmm… No wonder she spoke so softly most times. No wonder Fran was so  _loud_.  
  
“Wow…. I’m so… pretty…” Amy said, wonder gracing his voice.  
  
“ **Yes,** ” I said, “ **You are.** ” Okay, that’s enough waiting. I lifted a hand, slowly, nervously, to touch my chest. I wanted this, but I was scared. Come on Lyle, don’t be afraid, you have to prove this to her.  
  
My tail was curled under myself, placed in such a way that when my fingers touched my breast, and my hips bucked by instinct, I felt my… Amy’s… my vagina run across its length, and it felt both wrong and right. Right, because the shape was basically what I needed, but wrong, because despite the similarity, it  _wasn’t_  what I needed.  **Not at all.** The way my fur rubbed against the couch, like a lover tousling my hair…  
  
 **“Uuuuugh”**  I said, drooling a little, “ **How do you deal with this?** ” Each word jiggled my chest, just slightly. There was hardly any flesh to move, but it wasn’t bare bone and muscle, so what was there still had room to shift, if only slightly.  
  
As it did, I was aware of every  _inch_.  
  
There was this… this pressure too. Inside me. Not unlike the urge to urinate, somewhat unsettlingly. A less disgusting comparison might be holding a mouthful of water. Not quite to the limit, but uncomfortable and present and at the forefront of my thoughts.  
  
“ **Milk?** ” I asked, “ **is that, is this pressure… It’s almost painful… How do I let it out, Amy?** ”  
  
I kept sliding along my tail, teasing myself. Unlike when I’d been Faust, there was an awareness that I could stop, a self-presence, an undeniable Lyle-ness to my thoughts, keeping me from getting confused. But I’d come here with a goal, and… MMMmmmmmMMmm… And grinding on my tail was a great way to achieve that goal. I didn’t  _want_  to stop.  
  
My fingers tweaked, rubbed, and pinched at my flat tits, trying to coax out my cream. Amy might resist, it was his choice, but I was going to  _experience_ this.  
  
“It’s your husband,” he whispered, much closer than when I lost track of him, “he has to do it, or it’s no good. Sometimes a skilled Mamono can help but… it’s your husband.”  
  
“ **Amy, Amy… _please_ … see how pretty you are?”** I gasped, and grasped, unable to satisfy myself, “ **I did this to prove it, to show you…”**  
  
“I know,” he whispered, in my ear, “I’m so happy. Oh lord, this smell… it’s amazing… I have such pretty titties.”  
  
“ **MmmmMmmm moo,**” Oh lord, that was so embarrassing, he hadn’t even touched me yet, but just  _hearing_  him appreciate them, it tapped into something divinely… not primal… something  _bovine_.  
  
Then he touched my titty.  
  
“ **AAaaAaaH! AMY, fuck!”** Milk leaked out, dibbling down my chest like acid, burning me up everywhere it touched. It was still worth it, the pleasure, the pain, ooh the sweet release…  
  
“ **Milk me, milk me, milk me!”** Someone begged, it had to have been me, but I hadn’t meant to say that, I’d meant to say; “ **Milk me, Amy, please, fuck, milk me!”**...No, not that either.  
  
But…  
  
It just felt so good, though, admitting what I needed, begging for it. He knew exactly how it felt, this delay was an atrocity! My groans escalated; coming from a more and more animal place, sounding less and less human and closer and closer to ‘moo’ every time I let one escape. If I’d seen it from outside, I’d have been laughing at the silly cowgirl, mooing like a common farm cow, but from inside it was ecstasy. The further into that animal place I let myself fall, the better it felt as the milk fled my body beneath my Amy’s perfect hands.  
  
When he wrapped his “moo” lips around my “moo” tit I screamed “moooo!” it aloud and never “ **mooooo!** ” stopped.  
  
While I didn’t end up getting fucked, there was always next time.  
  
And I knew in my soul that there  **would**  be a next time.  
  
Whether with her, or one of the others.  
  
I wanted it inside me.  
  
 **Just to try.**  
  
Soon.

 

 

* * *

 

 

Shortly after I’d returned to my own body, I’d gone and hidden in my room, tried saying ‘moo’ as myself, just to make sure nothing had gotten ‘stuck’ somehow. It hadn’t worked, and I was completely relieved… and only a  _little_  disappointed. I was pretty pleased with how things had gone, overall, and Amy was too, which was the really important part, she’d had smiles creeping onto her face any time she stopped focusing ever since, and it had been a few hours at this point. Faust, on the other hand…  
  
We’d just finished dropping by Magenta’s studio, to talk more frankly about what she wanted Blackberry involved in, but she wasn’t around. She’d left me a package, though. Me specifically. An assortment of her episodic dreams, apparently from her private collection. The spell, based off of the one used to communicate through dreams that Sally and Queen Twinkle Star had spoken with, and that Nightmares used to hunt, was inscribed into the flesh of prisoner fruit, using Kraken ink, and apparently some other special processes, the work of an entire  _team_  of Mamono, including a Mindflayer and a Phantom. Together with the Doppleganger who was another frequent star, and Magenta herself, they called themselves the ‘Dream Team’. A bit on the nose, if you asked me.  
  
The result of all their efforts was a steady flood of small, slightly thick, edible squares of faux-paper which, when eaten, produced the dream the following night. It was safe to have as many as three in a day, before you risked oversleeping. It was  _also_  apparently possible to wake while still in the middle of one, leaving you quite groggy, but only by outside influence, and there were no refunds if it happened, since there was no way to prove it  _had_. They weren't too expensive, anyway. There was also a visible glyph on your forehead while you were dreaming, so most people knew better than to bother those so engaged.  
  
They were incredibly popular, and apparently shipped across the continent, although they’d yet to achieve, and here I quote, ‘global penetration’.  
  
Amy had picked up a selection of her favorites as well, since Faust had expressed an interest, and was quite keen to share. But the idea had only distracted Sally for so long, before she was complaining again.  
  
“All of that, the buildup, the drama, the gravitas, and Lyle, you did not even fuck yourself.” Faust shook her head, keeping pace with Amy and myself as we moved through the streets at a brisk pace. “What an absolute  _waste_. Was that not nearly half the point of gathering myself, Beepatrice, and Blackberry, to prove to our poor Bicorn that intercourse is  _safe_?”  
  
Blackberry was actually getting a bath from Beepatrice, at the moment, I think. Some kind of grooming, anyway. I guess they’d bonded when they’d gone off that day on the hill, Beeps  _had_  come back in her saddle… or maybe Beeps just really liked horses? I wasn’t sure, but she’d pulled out a brush from her supplies, and just looking at it had made Blackberry squeal, so far be it from me to interfere.  
  
“I still think we should talk to her,” Amy said, “I don’t know about this whole… ‘stage a revelation’ plan.”  
  
Faust laughed, somewhat derisively, but didn’t otherwise respond.  
  
Amy frowned at me, but I just shrugged my shoulders. Faust was gonna do her thing, whether we wanted her to or not. She was a woman of action. We could  _also_  do our thing, but that certainly wouldn’t slow her down. And, anyway, it wasn’t like play-acting for Blackberry’s sake hadn’t worked before.  
  
Instead, I replied to Faust; “Yeah, I know, I know, but I got distracted.”  
  
“Oh?” Faust asked, “Did you have  _moo_ re important things on your mind, Lyle?”  
  
Ugh. All morning with the ‘moo’ puns. “Ha ha, very funny,” I said, “Honestly, I’d like to see how  _you_  handle that, Faust. For all your talk, I’ve felt your breasts from the inside, you’ve got  _nothing_  on what Amy feels.” Admittedly, the rest of the experience was an entirely different story, but shush, not important. “Why don’t you magic yourself up some Holstaur tits, see how  _you_  like it?  
  
“Magic myself up some…? Lyle, don’t be absurd!” She chuckled, “I cannot simply…”  
  
She stopped walking.  
  
“ _Can_  I simply...?” She asked, her eyes unfocused. “I… don’t see why not? I  _am_  a genius, after all… Hmm… It would be rude to take Amy’s fulfillment from her, so soon after she’d found it… but there  _are_  other attractive options…”  
  
“Faust! You’re doing it again.” She’d always gotten wrapped up in her own head about plans and schemes, but something about ‘research’ drove her extra nutty these days.  
  
“Ah? What? Oh, hello.” She blinked, coming back out of wherever it was her mind went when science and magic ‘did the do’ in her head, and began walking again, keeping up. “My apologies, I just had the most enchanting idea.”  
  
You mean  _I_  did, Faust.  
  
“I will require some samples, but… I think it can be done. It will be excellent practice for the preservation efforts I will need to take for your useful organs as well.”  
  
Oh right, eww. “You  _really_  aren’t allowed to do that, Faust, you do understand that?”  
  
“It need not be the original, Lyle. With my genius, and your revelation,” Oh hey, some credit. Nice. “it is likely quite possible to simply grow our own spares. Not a full person, true, nor with any spirit energy, but that’s not what we’re after in any case. Likely safer too, less margin for error." By 'error', she meant explosions. And fire. And explosive fire. "Er… That is to say, I do not make  _mistakes_ , but the frontiers of discovery can be… treacherous. Yes.”  
  
I was picturing my legs and hips mindlessly running around with no torso, my bits dangling free in the wind, bumping into tables and falling over their magically created brethren. It sounded like  _exactly_  the kind of mess that Faust would make.  
  
“No legs.” I said, firmly.  
  
“What?” Both Faust and Amy asked, presumably for different reasons.  
  
“Why?” Faust added, unknowingly giving me validation.  
  
“I don’t want them running around, bumping into stuff, or heaven forbid, for some to  _escape._  No. Legs.”  
  
Faust frowned as she considered that, before nodding slowly.  
  
“What are you guys talking about?” Amy asked.  
  
“Trust me,” I said seriously, my hand on her shoulder, “You don’t want to know. You think you do, but I know, and I don’t want to know. I don’t even want to know there’s something  _to_ know, you know? I’m uncomfortable within a hundred yards of the subject.”  
  
“You are a child,” Faust said. “It is not as bad as all that. You would not have felt a thing.”  
  
That is  _not_  my concern here.  
  
“Just… take what you need while I’m sleeping and be done with it, okay?” It wasn’t ideal, but anything to avoid the original plan.  
  
“Very well. I would also like to put together a… shopping list, I suppose… for Beepatrice to complete. Some samples of the local flavor.”  
  
I closed my eyes, looking skyward for support, out of habit. Which direction  _should_  I be looking these days, anyway?  
  
“Faust,  _please just_   _ask_  people for their fluids or whatever. I’m sure there’s plenty of girls who’d be happy to ‘donate’. I don’t want you snipping bits off of people in secret, okay? That’s creepy. I  _definitely_ don’t want Beeps involved.”  
  
“There is nothing ‘creepy’ about pushing the bounds of imagination!” She shouted, reflexively. Then she stopped to actually think. “Though… ‘somewhat unsettling’ is a possibility, I suppose.”  
  
“Why are we snipping bits off of people? I’m really not following.” Amy asked.  
  
I remember when I was that innocent. A few too many ‘accidental’ poisonings, escaped ‘cross-bred’ insects, and all-too-common explosions took that all away from me. Then we grew up, and I had to  _arrest_ her for the explosions… Ugh. At least she lived on the outskirts, and her place never burnt down, against all odds. Still, there  _were_  some fun results, some really good times… Like when we found out Kaylee hated the color orange, and Faust somehow dyed  _every inch_ of her body, her house and her possessions, in a single night, all fluorescent orange, and it lasted for _days._ Hehehe. She deserved it, too. What a bitch, seriously.  
  
Magic has  _not_  made things easier, though. Wasn’t that what it was supposed to do?  
  
“Faust,” I explained, guessing somewhat, although I knew her well enough, “wants to turn herself into an abomination against logic and reason. Think like those puzzle boards for kids, but you dump ten or twenty of them in a pile, and force the pieces together to make your own picture.”  
  
“Quite the erotic picture indeed, Lyle. It would be a poor children’s puzzle board that included the pieces  _I_  intend to use.”  
  
I let out a sigh. “Just… don’t blow yourself up. I like you better with all your pieces attached, Sally.”  
  
“Then you shall like me better still with even  _more_  pieces attached! Worry not, Lyle, I shall start with rodents, to prove the theory.”  
  
“And when the horrifying sex-rat with pink dragon’s breath and giant wings escapes, Faust? What then?”  
  
“…I shall start with… ah… Sea Sponges?”  
  
“Better.”  
  
Amy just shook her head. Slowly but surely, though, she started smiling again. Guess we were still worth it.

 

 

* * *

 

 

 

I’d been searching for a time to give Faust her hat, but if she was going to start sticking new bits onto herself, best to do it sooner, rather than later, so she can plan around it. I carried the hat in the box it came in, and knocked on the door to her room.  
  
“Lyle? I am planning my ascension! Is this something urgent?”  
  
“Yeah, it’s me. Can I come in? It  _is_  sort of urgent, I have something for you. A gift.”  
  
The door opened immediately.  
  
She peered up at me, looking from my eyes, to the box, and back again. “Gift, you said? A gift for  _me_? From  _you_? I accept!” Her levitation, usually steady, was bobbing up and down excitedly, shifting her exposed breasts wildly around. I stared openly for a moment, completely and totally enthralled, before reluctantly continuing.  
  
“…mmm.” I licked my lips, taking a steadying breath, “Honestly… Faust, you don’t even know what it is yet.”  
  
It’s cute you’re excited, it’s really, really cute. And so  **fucking**  hot… but it’s also a bit disappointing to know that so far I could have just brought you a stone off the street and gotten the same reaction.  
  
“It was  _yours_ , and now is  _mine_! Mine! That is what it is! Give it to me! I desire it!” Her hands tore at the box, ripping it from my grasp, but in so controlled a manner that neither I nor it was damaged in the least.  
  
“Okay, okay, gosh. It’s… well, you remember that Hatter? This is how we met her.”  
  
The paper wrapping I’d done myself, poorly, fell to the ground; torn off like the skin off a fruit. The lid flew off the box without her hands touching it, and then the box fell out from beneath the hat, wrapped in more paper on the inside.  
  
The wrapped hat floating in place, Faust delicately, reverently removed the final layers, not appearing to have even heard what I’d said, so enraptured was she. As its shape and color became evident, tears filled her eyes.  
  
“Oh Lyle,” her voice was filled with warmth, despite the tears, “you beautiful, thoughtful beast, it matches my cloak! No sorceress should ever be without-”  
  
As the last of the paper cleared away, and her eyes caught sight of ourselves, holding hands on her hat, forever together, she fell to her knees, then sitting on the floor.  
  
“…” she tried to speak, but her breath was caught in her throat. She tried to reach for me, but her hands were shaking. Afraid she would drop it, I reached down, and helped her place it on her head, our plushie selves looking out at all she could see, declaring our intent to all who saw her.  
  
She looked up at me, weeping, “You’re so… so close… Lyle, so close I can taste it. I need you, I need you… no… just a little bit longer, a little bit more… I need to believe… but this is, it’s so  _much proof._ ”  
  
I didn’t know what she was babbling about exactly, but it sounded incredibly important, so I was laser-focused on every word.  
  
I was completely prepared, then, as I was watching her so closely, to catch her when she leapt at me.  
  
“My love,” she said, as she pushed me to the ground, with the force of her leap, her magic softening the fall, “I am… I am not quite ready to take you into myself the way we both desire… but… there  _is_  another way…”  
  
Another way?  
  
Like… the back way?  
  
Huh.  
  
Okay.  
  
“I… think I know what you mean. Are you sure? That’s… not supposed to feel as good for you as…”  
  
She smiled at me, bright and honest. “Foolish Lyle, my pleasure is not what matters in this endeavor. I will satisfy  _you_. In any case, I am Mamono. Of course the experience will fulfill me. As a Lich, to seek sexual novelty is very nearly my purpose. I could take sustenance and joy from your attempts to penetrate even my  _ear_ , quite likely, though… I have no particular interest in that?” Her gaze turned questioning.  
  
Ear sex? Really?  
  
“Me neither.”  
  
She grinned. “Perhaps there is some Mamono out there from which we can learn to appreciate such things? In any case, are you ready?”  
  
I was ready a bit  _too_  much, a bit too  _easily_ , these days. “For you? Always.”  
  
“Then hold on.” She wrapped her legs beneath me, lifting me with her magic, and we floated back into her room. She laid on me like a bed, her soft, somewhat cool skin touching mine as my clothing flowed away beneath her body, instinctually granting access to my wife.  
  
I startled out of the trance I was falling into as the room began to rotate, putting us upside down, from my perspective, and I was suddenly laying on  _her_. I didn’t have long to consider that, though, as we rose higher and higher, until my back was pinned against the ceiling, gravity calling for me nearly as desperately as Faust, but she refused to be beaten by something as simple as natural law. She was F̛a̢us̴ţ ̷vo̵n̨ F̷r͟an̸ke̛n͠st̷ein҉. If she said up was down, then  _up was down_ , damn it, and the world could get on board willingly, or be made to bow by force.  
  
And that was no exaggeration, for though gravity called for me, it seemed to have given up on her entirely. The magic of levitation left her, and she fell  _to the ceiling,_ pinning me there, holding me aloft. Her hair was, from my perspective, dangling towards the sky, her sweat and stray, drying tears falling past me to impact the roof.  
  
And, while it wasn’t quite the way I’d have preferred it, when she mounted me, I found I had no complaints with the feel of it. The tightness, the shifting muscles, the ephemeral sensation of transgression, of “shouldn’t and can’t” giving way to “should and did”, the way her whole body seemed to both want to push me out, and to pull me in, keep me forever.  
  
Forever was a long time, but I was alright with forever.  
  
Her cute icy blue eyes danced, peaking out at me from beneath her hat and hair, and she rose and fell and rose again, like her journey through life, death, and undeath reenacted here and now upon my body, written into me, a prelude, a preview of what was to be my future; my destiny simultaneously looking down at me from the brim of her cap, seeming to wave at me from that time yet to come with each rise and fall,  _her_  lover clutched in  _her_  arm, and so, so  _happy_.  
  
 **I could be that happy, if I wanted.**  
  
It was only a stray thought, but as it raced through me, I felt a little thrill, a rise in arousal. A startling connection with the idea. It… was true that the best, most pleasurable experiences I’d had had not been in my own body… I wasn’t made for it like they were… I was content, more than that I was happier than I’d ever been…  
  
But was I as happy as I  _could be_?  
  
Certainly, here and now, fucking my beautiful wife, dick being cradled in sensation after exultant sensation, grin splitting my face, and shared closeness with the one I adored, it felt wrong to say ‘no’… but did it feel honest to say ‘yes’?  
  
I wasn’t  _sure_ , and it frightened me.  
  
I focused instead on my certainty, on my Sally, on what she was doing for me. “I love you, Faust,” I rasped, and the spell raced across my body as well, it’s pleasures greatly weakened by my continuing transformations. It felt more and more ‘phantom’ every day, the pleasures that used to overwhelm me barely satisfying anymore.  
  
Her smile grew, as she watched me resist its call with hardly a thought, the realization in her eyes that it had turned into more of a spice than a main course.  
  
“Why, my love,” she said, completely lucid, entirely capable of speech, whereas I’d had to gasp my words, and only managed them due to their depth of truth, “I do believe you are outgrowing that paltry toy. You will find I have outgrown it too.”  
  
Her mana flew out of me, and reshaped itself, glowing brighter, it’s runes and patterns becoming more complex, before flying straight back into the heart of me.  
  
I was aware of her, suddenly. Her presence, her body. I could feel her like I could feel the sun, could taste the ocean on the beach’s breeze. A subtle but omnipresent sensation. I knew where her body was every second, could feel a loose echo of her mouth as she spoke, though I could not yet understand the words, my mind reeling under the effects.  
  
I felt myself thrusting into her, it was rough, indistinct, and faint, but it was definite.  
  
“Lyle…” she said, as she stroked my cheek, her pace not slowed at all, “can you hear me darling?”  
  
In response, I came.  
  
“Ahh! Maybe, maybe you can, but… maybe you cannot…  ** _Again_** , just to be sure.”  
  
I obliged.  
  
“Pure. Luck.”  
  
I came.  
  
“Happenstance.”  
  
Again.  
  
“Coincidence.”  
  
And.  
  
“Chance!”  
  
Again.  
  
“A FLUKE!”  
  
I let loose a final time, pressing my lips to hers to shut her up.  
  
I love you, Faust.


	6. 6

* * *

****

**Contact with the Enemy**   
**\- Interlewd -**   
**Pony Up, Deputy**

* * *

  
  
  
  
The brush ran through my mane just the way Momma always did it, but Beeps had to sit in my saddle to reach. That was okay, though. I loved Beeps! The way she sounded with all her clicks and stuff coming from deep inside… the sound was really close to the way my herd used to sound, through the walls of my tent. I missed my tent.  
  
…And she’s so nice! Funny, too! The way she stares at stuff and uses just one word and some movements to tell a story about life is always so cool, even if the story isn’t always as kind and happy as it could be. That was okay. Life was like that sometimes, too.  
  
Lyle and the others were out on a walk, they were gonna talk to Magenta for me, so I could be a star. I'd needed to stay here, though. I stank. I was... hehehe... I was a dirty, dirty girl. But even the filthiest girl still needs to take care of herself, and Beeps was so nice that she was willing to help. I thought I'd never see a real manebrush again after I left my herd... But Beeps was so good at cleaning, I guess she had  _everything_.  
  
“Beeps?” I sighed, the brushing was really nice.  
  
“Blackberry.” Hehehe. That’s my name. I’m so  _bad_.  
  
“Did you ever… want a herd? Like, foals of your own? With Lyle?” It was a hard question to ask, and I was too embarrassed to ask Sally.  
  
The brushing didn’t stop, but Beeps was slower to answer than she usually was.  
  
“Beeps? I’m sorry if that’s a mean question…”  
  
“Factory.” She said, eventually, quietly. “Destroyed.”  
  
Factory? “You mean…” I whispered, “your lady bits?”  
  
She patted my head, and I wiggled a little, leaning into it. It was nice. My Aunt Sunflower always did that to cheer me up, when I thought I’d been bad, but it turned out I really hadn’t been.  
  
“Birthplace.” Oh. Like…?  
  
“Somebody… burned down your breeding fields?” I’d never been allowed to go, but I’d heard stories of a wonderful place where a mare can be with her husband… a place like that… destroyed!? “Beeps! I’m so sorry!”  
  
“Essentially.”  
  
“That’s… that’s so sad! We should tell Lyle! Lyle will fix it! He’ll plant all the flowers, grass and trees you could need. Where can we find them? Are they in season?” I was gonna fix this for her. I might not be able to have foals, because I’d been bad… but Beeps was a good girl. She deserved foals, if she wanted them.  
  
She thought for a bit. “Extinct.”  
  
That meant they were all gone, right?  _Forever_? No! Beeps' foals! “What… what about Sally? She can bring them back! She’s so smart! She can do it!”  
  
“…Perhaps.”  
  
Yes! “I know she can! Sally can do anything! One time? I saw her climb a tree! It was  _amazing_!” I confided, to bolster her confidence, but the story got better yet, “Then! And  _then_!? She jumped to the  _next_  tree! She got my bracelet back from that mean raven, and I thought it was gone forever too! She  _can_  do it!”  
  
Beeps finished brushing my mane, and began working the burs out of my coat, gently, never letting them sting me. Better than any of my sisters could have done.  
  
“Impressive.”  
  
“I know! I tried and tried, but I’ve never been able to do it myself, she’s so nimble!” I was sometimes jealous of all the ways that Sally was the perfect heroine, so pretty, so brave, so smart… a much better Unicorn than I ever was.  
  
I stomped my hoof on that thought. Shush, you.  
  
“You and Lyle can ride on my back while he sows the seeds in the field, Beeps, if you want…” I mostly only meant about real seeds and real fields… but… I  _was_  a bad girl. It was okay if it wasn’t me, right, Momma?  
  
“Thanks.”  
  
“Sure!” I said, happy to help. “We just need to talk to Sally and Lyle. I know we can do it, Beeps. Amy will help too! We love you, so don’t be sad, okay? You aren’t alone. You’re a good girl.”  
  
The burs were tossed into the trash, and she started washing me with a sponge. This was the hard part. Good girls didn’t make gross noises when their herdmates washed their bodies.  
  
Aah. Aaaaah. ‘No. Raspberry, Beeps is a good girl. Not like  _you_. Stop that. Keep quiet.’ My Momma chided me. She wasn’t real. Well, she was. This one wasn’t. It was confusing.  
  
“Blackberry,” I whispered, “not Raspberry.”  
  
‘Don’t you sass me, young lady.’ Yes Momma, sorry Momma.  
  
As Beeps moved further and further back towards my tail, it got harder to keep silent. She washed the soap off of the rest of me before moving to my bad place.  
  
“Beeps, wait!”  
  
“Unhygienic.”  
  
“I know; I know… but…” I felt myself throb, ‘back there’. Oh no, she probably saw… Maybe my tail was in the way? No… it was swishing back and forth, trying to spread my evil Bicorn stink to trick my husband. Lyle’s not here, body. Body, please, stop.  
  
“Aaaah!” No, no, no! “Oh Beeps, I’m sorry!” She was still doing my grooming, cleaning deeper inside than anyone ever had, but I was getting my gross girl juices on her, making it wretched and unholy…  
  
“Good.”  
  
“aaAH!”  
  
“Girl.”  
  
“ **AAAH!** ”  
  
“Blackberry.”  
  
“BEEPS! I LOVE YOU!” I screamed, unable to hold back any more.  _I was… a good girl!?_  My vile, awful hips rocked back and forth, pulling her arm in and out. My horrible, terrible hands grasping for the other bad place, the one up front, on my human side, but luckily, thankfully,  _tragically_ , I could never reach it, never touch it, no matter how twisted I made myself become. “Aah, aaaahhh, mmmmmmhmhmhmh…”  
  
“…Sparkling.” Beeps said, pulling her arm out, satisfied.  
  
Then she kissed  ** _IT_** , and my world lit on fire! I bucked and jumped, kicking and running, out of control, slamming into the walls of the bathhouse, panicking instinctually, breaking the bath stuff and  _ruining everything_.  
  
She ran across the room, standing up from the ground near the wall where I’d kicked her,  _kicked her oh no!_  And she hopped up into my saddle, digging around in my saddle bag, and sliding my bit into my mouth so easily, then she started pulling at my reins, leading me away from danger and destruction.  
  
“Woah.” She said, her hands running through my mane, legs gripping tight around my barrel.  
  
“Woah.” Patting my head, rubbing my back, holding me close. I was slowing down, getting my legs and body back under control.  
  
“Easy.” Whispering in my ear, hand on my chest. Our hearts beat as one, mine, the horrible irredeemable outcast, hers, my thundering herd, come back to take me home regardless.  
  
“Beeps… I need… I… Will you… please… I…” No, I needed to say this, needed to let go of the old, needed to move forward! I had to be brave! Be smart! Be  _good_!  
  
“Please, Beeps, let me call you… ‘Momma’?”  
  
She leapt up into my arms, hugging me stiffly, but tightly, warmly.  
  
“Proudly.”


	7. 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This chapter has several dreams in it. You shouldn't skip them. They aren't directly plot relevant, but Lyle's reaction to them is, so reading the actual dream is important contextually. Plus, they're kinda fun, you know?

Beepatrice greeted us as Sally and I left Sally’s room, walking hand in hand, Beeps having appeared from wherever she’d been upon our return to the house. She appeared to have had quite the adventure.  
  
“Beeps, are you okay?” I asked, more than a little concerned.  
  
“Unharmed.” She, on the other hand, looked completely  _un_ concerned.  
  
“Are you… sure? You look a little… dented.” In the shape of a hoof-print no less, right on her stomach. She didn’t often get hit, and I’d never seen her take one that actually injured her. Why wouldn’t she have moved? She was more than fast enough…  
  
“Repairable.”  
  
“Okay, sure, but… did you say something rude? Not that I think you would, but… Getting Blackberry to trample you, that’s an accomplishment.” Could have been Amy, too, I guess, but she’d been spending time with Blackberry, it was a safe bet.  
  
“Rude?” She asked, hands on her hips.  
  
I gave her a look. “Beeps, you are a very sweet, wonderfully effective, delightfully pleasant maid and Deputy… to and for  _me_. If you think I hadn’t noticed the way you sometimes treated others, though…” Although I never picked up on your enmity with Sally, to my shame. At least that’s done now.  
  
She hung her head. “…Rude.”  
  
“I think it’s kind of cute, when it’s not hurting people I like, anyway.”  
  
She looked back up at me.  
  
“Honest?”  
  
“Of course. But… Blackberry?” I really didn’t think Beeps had hurt her feelings, she’d given every indication of liking her, but… What  _had_  happened?  
  
Beepatrice put her hand to her mouth, as though to boost her voice, although she could probably just  _do_ that. “Blackberry!”  
  
“Coming, Momma!” Uh… Momma?  
  
From a doorway on the other side of the living room, on the side with the utility rooms, Blackberry trotted in, her hair and tail wrapped in towels… but she was otherwise naked. Holy shit, those tits. Enormous. Those  _curves_ … Divine. Damn, girl. I got a nice look at her pussy too, all pink and cute, pretty obviously freshly washed, from the way it, and the rest of her skin, glistened in the light. I’d seen this all before, briefly, back at the cave, but… for some reason I’d avoided staring. I wasn’t making that mistake now. I took it  _all_  in.  
  
“Eeep!” She backed into the bathhouse, peeking out, face red. “Did… did you need something Momma?”  
  
Beeps- lord I was so horny but how again so soon? -Beeps gestured to her stomach, while within Blackberry’s view and said; “Explain.”  
  
“Oh… yeah… Sorry, Lyle… I, uh… I kicked Momma pretty hard when she was washing me. She surprised me, and… um, my body moved by itself.”  
  
“Why… why are you calling her ‘Momma’?”  
  
Beeps pointed at her. “Adopted.”  
  
Oh. Well that explains-  
  
No it doesn’t.  
  
What even-  
  
Ok.  
  
So…  
  
My wife… adopted my other wife? Like as her kid? Am I… married to my daughter? Is that how that works? Am I my own son-in-law? Father-in-law? There’s probably a law involved  _somehow_ , and I’m probably breaking it. …If Blackberry adopts Amy, what then? How deep can this go? Faust? Someone else? What if, after being adopted by Amy, Faust turns around and adopts  _Beeps_? What kind of life is this that I even have to ask these questions? Why can’t a guy just marry a horse and have things stay  _simple_?  
  
Blackberry, though, was not conflicted at all, if anything, she was overjoyed, she forgot herself, stepping into view again, saying something to me, but I missed it entirely.  
  
“Wooow…” I said, entranced, stepping slowly forward. “So… cute… pink… and  _wet_ …”  
  
“EEp!” Back out of view she went, but… ugh… I was SO horny. Damn it. Not right now! She might be my daughter! Somehow! At least wait until I know for sure! My lower half wasn’t having any of it, though, stubbornly insisting that whatever she was, she was my wife, and I should fuck her. Often. Preferably starting right here and now. Why hadn’t I done that yet, anyway?  
  
Oh right. Gently. Right.  
  
“Sorry, Blackberry. I missed what you said, you’re very pretty, and I got distracted.”  
  
“You’re… very pretty too, Lyle.” She said, quietly. This was  _not_  helping my erection. Rather, it was, and that was the issue. I squeezed Faust’s hand tighter, and she returned it, grounding me.  
  
I turned to Beeps. “Well… I guess… congratulations, it’s a girl.”  
  
What else was I supposed to say?  
  
Beeps, though, was looking at Sally.  
  
“Oh,” Faust said, haughtily, “Are you admiring my hat, Beepatrice? It was a gift; you know? From  _Lyle._ ”  
  
Oh fuck.  
  
Whoops.  
  
Beeps, predictably,  _but apparently not predictably enough, Lyle,_  turned to me.  
  
I did my very… very best to avoid giving anything away.  
  
“Hat?” she asked, and I felt terrible.  
  
“You… uh… you already have one, right? You made it yourself, and… it means a lot to me that you wear it.” That wasn’t a lie, actually. Merely an evasion, using truth as cover.  
  
“Hmm.” She said.  
  
Fuck fuck fuck.  
  
Shit.  
  
“I uh, I do have an appointment, though. Soon. To get you one, I mean.”  
  
“Mhmm.”  
  
*Knock knock knock*  
  
I instantly started walking to the front door, grateful for any distraction.  
  
I swear, Akubra, if it’s you, here to save my stupid ass, creepy timing or not I will kiss you senseless.  
  
I opened it up, and was greeted with three women in black robes, and covered in various religious iconography. One tall and flat, sticklike, one medium all around, and one kind of short, with a large chest, very curvy. They all had tiny weasel-like animal ears, and chains wrapped around their fluffy tails, as well as small black wings at their waists. Their skin was dark, and they all shared features that made me think they were probably related.  
  
“Hello!” they said in unison, openly fingering themselves and each other. “Have you heard the joyful news about the Fallen God?”  
  
I shut the door.  
  
Nope.  
  
Not today.  
  
Locking it just in case, I turned around, not eager to face the situation I’d only briefly escaped. Akubra was serving tea at the table, Beeps already seated.  
  
Ah. I suppose… I have to kiss you senseless then.  
  
Akubra chuckled, but the reasoning wasn’t clear.  
  
To anyone else.  
  
Fuck.  
  
I walked over to the table, a spot of tea already set aside for me. Sitting down at the table, I said; “Timely as ever, Akubra.”  
  
She inclined her head at me, acknowledging.  
  
“This is her?” Faust asked, “the one with… the room?” We glanced over in unison. The bookcase we’d placed to block it off seemed to have become a part of the door, having, at some point, swung open with it, exposing the room again. “Ah yes,” Faust said, “I forgot they did that. My mistake.”  
  
Sort of  _exactly_  the wrong thing to overlook, but it was in my favor right now, so I’d let it slide.  
  
Akubra had, on her lap, one of those strangely made books from her shelf, where instead of paper, the pages instead were small leaves stitched together. Even more oddly, though, with it open, pages bared, I could see that this one, at least, had no text printed inside.  
  
“Good… uh… good book?”  
  
“I enjoy it, yes.”  
  
Uh… huh…  
  
She tore one of the early pages out, dunking it into her tea, which darkened considerably. I suppose there’s no prize for guessing which  _kind_  of leaves they were.  
  
“So, Beepatrice. I understand you would like a hat?”

 

 

* * *

 

 

 

Akubra had measured Beeps’ head, with only a few hiccups; Beeps hadn't taken to the process very well, seeming uncomfortable. Akubra had also used the chance to measure Faust as well, for whatever reason.  
  
I was pretty much done for the day, at this point.  
  
“Amy, are you coming?” I asked, opening the door to my bedroom, looking back at her, “I’m exhausted.”  
  
“Me?” She asked, confused. Really? You need a hint?  
  
I walked up to her, and put my hand on her chest. “Yes, you.”  
  
Her eyes went unfocused, and she started to blush. “O… Oh… Okay.”  
  
“Lyle?” Uh oh. Blackberry. “Can… can I come cuddle too?”  
  
Some time had passed, but I was still reeling from the show I’d gotten from my cute lil Bicorn. I didn’t really  _want_  to refuse her. That was the problem.  
  
“The bed  _is_  big enough for all of us, Lyle.” What, seriously?  
  
“I didn’t realize you and I were like that, Akubra.”  
  
“Like what, Lyle? What sorts of things are you getting up to with me in your imagination? We’ve only just met.”  
  
I sighed. The thing was, frustrating though she may be, with as horny as I’d been lately… if she made a concerted effort, she’d almost certainly have me. The honest truth was that I might have gone too far. It turns out even sex monsters who like you for who you are still want more sex, and… Incubization changes a man. The earnest desires of so many Mamono… even if one or two might have been just fine, with Akubra included that was, what,  ~~five~~? Six maybe, if I was miscounting, for whatever reason?  
  
It was too much. The most satisfying passions I’d yet experienced with the love of my life, driving me to exhaustion, and barely two minutes later, my lusts had been nearly uncontrollable just from Blackberry’s nudity. Faust had mentioned something about this, way back when. ‘Hamburger in a suit.’ Her solution…

 

 

_“Only after you have begged me for it, and make no mistake,_   
_you will learn that I know the best path forward for us.”_

  
Could I really… do that? Could she really have planned so far ahead? Or was this just things spiraling out of control? She’d said I’d have  _decades_ , and she wasn’t much of a liar… If she was going to do something you wouldn’t like, she just… told you, gave you a chance to convince her not to, or, much more rarely, did it without consultation at all. Deception rarely entered into the equation.  
  
“Not tonight, Blackberry.” Her face fell. “I need you to get ready.”  
  
She looked back up, curious, her expression lingering on the edge of wistful sadness.  
  
This had dragged on long enough.  
  
“I need you to pack a picnic basket. Some things for me, and some dandelions. Tomorrow, we’re going on a date.”  
  
Her eyes lit up, and her front hooves lifted off the ground, running on air, raising her high above the floor, her head nearly scraping the ceiling.  
  
“YES!” She shouted, “Yes, yes, yes! Momma! Momma, did you hear? A  _date_! With my  _husband_! A  _picnic_  date! I love you, Lyle!”  
  
Beeps patted her on the arm.  
  
“I love you too, sweetheart.” I said, “You are my beautiful wife, and the best steed a sheriff could ask for.” She danced back and forth on her hooves.  
  
“Amy, Amy, Amy!” She cried, trotting up, taking Amy’s hands in hers, “I’m going on a date!”  
  
Amy smiled, “I heard that, Blackberry. I’m glad for you.”  
  
“I need your help,” She said, face serious, “I need shoes.”  
  
Shoes? Horseshoes or shoes-shoes? …Are there horse-sandals? Like… for Camels?  
  
“Shoes?” Amy said, “Why?”  
  
“It’s an important step! A girl needs to look her best for her husband, and so, before her first date, she always gets shoes! Dandelion, Tallgrass, Pinecone! All of them did! And they always take their best friend and…. their Momma! Beeps! Please!?”  
  
“Shoes.” Beeps nodded.  
  
“Shoes.” Blackberry replied.  
  
“…Shoes.” Amy said, reluctantly. She’d been mouthing ‘best friend’ to herself, playing with the idea.  
  
“Now wait just a minute, Mrs. Blackberry of the Forest,” Faust said, hands on her hips “I thought  _I_  was your best friend?” Oh Faust. Think for a second. You don’t honestly want to go shoe shopping do you? You’d be bored to tears.  
  
“Of course not, Sally.” Blackberry said, earnestly. “You’re my  _hero_.”  
  
“…Oh.” Faust said, blushing. “Ah… thank you, Blackberry.”  
  
“…For what?” she asked.  
  
“Ah… your undeniable honesty, I believe, would be how best to put it.”  
  
“Oh! You’re welcome!” She turned back to me. “Lyle…? Can I… borrow Amy? To plan?”  
  
What had I unleashed exactly?  
  
“Uh…” I looked at Amy, she shrugged, apologetically. “Yeah, I guess.”  
  
I turned to Faust, and gestured to my room. I'd already taken three of the dreams that Magenta had left for me, and I didn't want to be alone in case something went wrong. She nodded, emphatically, our plushy selves joining in via momentum. That effect was crazy good, and just with stitching. Akubra did good work.  
  
“I would size you up for a hat, yourself, Lyle… But it’s a bit early for that yet. Perhaps after we have breakfast together?” Akubra said, from directly behind me.  
  
I jumped, but recovered quickly. “Like tomorrow morning? How is that any better?” I asked, confused. Wait… Didn’t I just basically invite her to stay the night? She’s fucking  _sneaky_.  
  
“Ah… tomorrow would be too soon as well. Perhaps… the day after? Or the one after that? We shall see.” And she invites herself for the next few days in response. Yep. Ugh. She put her hand on my shoulder, pressing me gently into my room.  
  
Beepatrice followed as well.  
  
Despite what was happening here, no one made any moves to remove Akubra. Without understanding how she got  _in_ , keeping her  _out_  was basically impossible anyway. I think Beeps was a little afraid of her, as well. She’d made an effort not to look at her ever since she’d arrived, going so far as to close her eyes during her fitting, muttering “Nonsense” to herself over and over.  
  
“Lyle?” Faust asked, “Where have your covers gone?”  
  
“Oh,” I said, “I burned them.”  
  
“What?” Beeps said, alarmed.  
  
“Sorry Beeps, I know you love to tuck me in. You still can, though!”  
  
“Lyle… My love… Why did you burn your covers?”  
  
Wasn’t it obvious?  
  
 ~~“They were disgusting and horrible and unworthy. I have much better covers now.”~~  
  
It was silent.  
  
“…What? Guys, are you okay?”  
  
“Let… Let us simply go to bed, Lyle, darling.”  
  
We crawled into the enormous bed, Akubra cozying up to Beeps, who was next to me, with Faust on my other side. This bed was a bit too big to remove entirely, at least so far,  ~~but the other one was taken care of~~. I didn’t need it.  
  
My covers slithered down to the end of the bed, still touching my feet, pajamas adorning me.  
  
“Beeps?”  
  
With no hesitation, she reached down, her cool metallic fingers so wonderful, their touch intoxicating as she pulled the covers up over us. I slithered into her hands, just a little, so she could feel it too.  
  
I was so lucky.  
  
And tomorrow, the four of us would be having breakfast.  
  
I couldn’t wait.

 

 

* * *

**\- Dream One -**   
**Howling for You**

* * *

 

 

_I was floating in a very strange way, unable to turn my head, unable to close my eyes. Oh. Right. This was a dream… I wonder what it’s about?_   
  


 

  * I’d been bitten. There was no escaping it. Sarah, Tom and I were still on the run, but the damn thing was keeping up, toying with us. Playing with us. Having fun. Enjoying it…  
  
I needed to keep moving. Had to fight it. Had to run long enough that at least I wouldn’t bow to her, that at least I knew Sarah and Tom were safe. Had to protect the pack.  
  
The what?  
  
No, no, no… Come on Rachel, fight!



  
_I floated along behind the girl, unable to control my motion. I circled the group of them, and as I got in front of them, it became clear that there was something behind them, chasing in an almost leisurely way. It ran ahead, to the side of them, closing distance in a way that made it clear to me it was in control here, but keeping out of their view._   
  


 

  * “Awwwoooooooooo!”  
  
“Oh shit, it’s over there! Run, run!” Tom said, changing direction. As he ran by me, I caught a whiff of his sweat. We exercised together frequently, it was a comforting, familiar smell.  
  
Sarah and I kept pace with him, even though I itched all over, on my legs, my arms, even under my hair and at the base of my spine…  
  
I felt my teeth shift.  
  
Oh God.  
  
Chief, Chief, please, please deliver me! I’ve been good, I’ve been devout! Please!



  
_She didn’t look well, either. Frankly, she looked like she was about to be sick. Flushed, panting, body shaking and twitching…_   
  


 

  * “Awwwoooooooo!” ‘Pack? Where are you?’  
  
I’m over here…  
  
What? No! “Go fuck  **yourself**! Leave us alone!”  
  
“Be quiet!” Sarah hissed, “she’ll hear you.”  
  
Our pace through the underbrush wasn’t exactly quiet itself, nor was it very fast. Although… either I was getting faster, or the other two were slowing down. Weak? Wounded? Prey?  
  
No no no! Friends! Pack! Don’t hunt them!  
  
Wait…  
  
Ugh. I ran my long, flat tongue over my sharp, powerful teeth.



_Uh oh. What kind of dreams are these? I… took three? That was dumb. That was a dumb choice._   
  


 

  * Fear, I felt it, but I smelled it too.  
  
“Sarah? I… don’t feel so good.” My tail was droopy, my ears flat, a sign I was unwell.  
  
“R-… Rachel? Stay with us, Rachel!”  
  
Rachel. I was… Rachel. Right. I wagged my tail.  
  
“R-right. Sorry.”  
  
My packmate looked nervous.  
  
Of course.  
  
We were being hunted! The nerve! We were hunters! We brought the food home! The meat, the deer! How dare this bitch hunt us? We should show her our strength!  
  
I growled, “Why don’t you just ggggrrrrrrroooo away!?”  
  
“Awoooooo!” ‘Come back, come back! I want to play!’  
  
Play? Play!  
  
Shit.  
  
“I… I think you need to leave me, guys.”  
  
“Rachel, no!” Tom cried, “I won’t let you become one of those things! You can stay with us, we’ll keep you safe, keep it a secret!”  
  
Stay? Hmmm… I did like Tom… like the way he smelled, the way we tousled, he was aggressive, but I’d always been better… Always been able to pin him down… Felt his erection…  
  
“I…”  
  
Sarah cut in, “I think Rachel’s right, Tom. Look at how she’s looking at you!”  
  
Bitch. I’m fine. Don’t interrupt me when I’m talking to Tom.



  
_Oh shit._   
  


 

  * I slapped her hard across the face, she fell to the ground. Blood trickled out of the tiny cuts my nails had left. That felt… good.  
  
“Don’t awooo fuckin’… Grrrrr… Don’t you fucking talk to me that way, bitch. You’re not better than me.”  
  
She looked up at me, in the submissive pose, neck bared, belly out. Good. Know your place.  
  
I looked at both of them.  
  
“You two need to go. I’ll hold her off.”



  
  
_The worst part was, I could feel it. I was linked to her senses in some strange way, other than sight, which seemed to come from somewhere else, something else, something she couldn’t see._   
  
_I knew what it was like. What she felt. Being overcome. I was more aware of it than she was, as an outsider, but… it **did**  feel good. When her claws hit the face of her friend, I don’t think she even realized what she’d done, but a jolt of pleasure raced through her all the same. Intoxicating. She’d do it again. And again. How could she not?_

 

  *   
I waited in a clearing, big enough to do the job. I needed to let her know, challenge her! This was my forest! My friends! I’m Alpha!  
  
It ripped out of me as I fell to my knees. “Awwwooooooo!” ‘Come get some!’  
  
“Aaawwooooo!” ‘Took you long enough, bitch!’  
  
“I’m nobody’s bitch,” I growled, as she swaggered into the clearing.  
  
She was confident. Huge. Muscular. So what? I’d been fighting guys twice my size all my life.  
  
“Wrrrrrrrong. You. Mine. Bitch.” Her big stupid teeth couldn’t even make sounds right. Mine were much more elegant. Surgical. Vicious. The knife to her club. The wolf to her cub.  
  
We circled each other.  
  
I waited for her big, stupid body to commit to motion.  
  
She waited for me to make a mistake. Not fuckin likely.  
  
Finally, finally she committed. I waited for the trick, but it wasn’t there. Dumb.  
  
Dumb dumb dumb.



_Dumb! Rachel’s faster! Faster than you! Get her, Rachel! Make her pay! ...Wait._   
  


 

  * As she leapt at me, I darted underneath her, raking her with my claws, then I grabbed her by the tail, stopping her short.  
  
“Wrong, you’re mine, bitch!” I swung her up, over my shoulders and down onto the ground, leaping onto her before she could scurry away. I ripped at her lightly, with my claws. The superficial damage healed quickly, but she learned even quicker.  
  
Her struggles ceased.  
  
I put my teeth to her throat.  
  
“Alpha,” she said, “mercy… I submit… I submit!



_Yes…_   
  


 

  * Damn right.  
  
I began kissing her at her throat, scraping it occasionally with my teeth, causing her to moan and squirm beneath me. With no husband to satisfy us, this was her role. She lifted a leg, pulling her knee up, giving me something to hump against without pleasuring her in return.  
  
“Good bitch.”  
  
Her tail wagged, thumping hard against the ground as I used her body, tearing away at my clothing, soaking her thick fur in my juices, my scent. Declaring her mine.  
  
“What lucky trash you are, that I would take you in, after what you did to my pack.”  
  
Mmm. There was a thought. My pack. Still squirming underneath me, she bucked and came, wildly aroused by submission to her Alpha. What a loser.  
  
Still…



_Crap, it’s not done, is it? We’re… going after them… aren’t we?_   
  


 

_I..._

 

 

 

_I know it’s wrong, but…_

  
…I can’t abandon my pack. After I’d made certain of her loyalty, I stood up. She stayed kneeling, licked pathetically at my cunt, lapping and tasting the superior power within. It was a pleasant distraction at least. Not quite good for nothing, then.  
  
I breathed in, the scent of Tom and Sarah still fresh, I could have followed them with days gone by and a thunderstorm between us. This chase was beneath me.  
  
I fell into a run, and the bitch followed. We flew through the forest growth, tearing past trees and flowing through bushes and underbrush like water.  
  
We closed the distance between us, coming up out of the woods, and to the cabin near the edge we shared as space to prep for the hunt.  
  
Mmm. Good memories here. Better still to come.  
  
I stalked up onto the front porch, claws scrabbling for purchase on the polished wood floors.  
  
“SarRrrrah?” I called, cautiously.  
  
“Rrrachel!” Good. Mine.  
  
She opened the door, and I pinned her to the floor in a fluid motion. Her eyes had yellowed, and I could see proper ears slowly pushing up out of her hairline, her teeth still coming in.  
  
She gave a half-hearted snap, to save face, but submitted almost instantly. She was still weak. Not her fault. Her fur hadn’t even finished growing, and she’d never beaten me before, anyway.  
  
“Bitch!” I called, “Satisfy her!”  
  
Sarah got up onto all fours, back arching as the bitch proved her worth to her, too, face deeply buried under Sarah’s tail, slurping sounds echoing through the cabin.  
  
“We’re keeping her,” I growled. Sarah nodded, but not as permission. Acknowledgment of a decision I’d made.  
  
Good.  
  
Fur grew fast out of her body, her muscles swelling, snapping feeble clothing meant to hold a much weaker creature. Her arms and legs were nearly covered, and she shivered and barked, quietly, taking the feelings into herself. Accepting the pack. A natural.  
  
“Wherrrre’s Tom?”  
  
“Tom. Tom. Tom.” She yipped, excited. “He in bedroom. Window small. No escape~.”  
  


 

 

_Ahh… Aaaaaahh…. AaAAaaAAH! No… hah… no escape, Tom…_

I smashed through the feeble wooden door, sniffing, searching. The closet, Tom? Seriously?  
  
I ripped the door off its hinges.  
  
“Rachel, please… Please don’t…” Then stop me, prick.  
  
He wouldn’t. He was weak.  
  


 

 

_Weak._

I yanked him out of the closet, tossing him back into the main room. “Bitch! Pin him down. Alpha gets first bite.”  
  
She scrambled to grab him, slipping her arms underneath his from behind, locking his back to her breasts, and then sinking to the floor. Her tail wagged at a job well done.  
  
I bared my teeth, and Tom paled, Bitch sniffing at him, at his face.  
  
“Go ahead, Bitch. Lick all you like. I said I got the first  _bite._ ”  
  
Her tongue ran up and down his cheek. He whimpered.  
  
“Husband…” She moaned, still licking, saliva trailing down his cheek.  
  
Oh… That word…  
  
“Husband!” I echoed.  
  
“Husband!" Sarah cried, circling, waiting for my move.  
  
I fell to all fours, animal need overcoming what reason I had left. Husband. I crawled over him, claws tearing away feeble wrappings.  **Husband.**  I scratched and bit at stomach and shoulders, teaching his body respect, and slowly, respect rose in him, prick engorging, and the scent was nearly overwhelming.  
  
 **HUSBAND.**  
  
I sunk onto it. The sensation of fullness was fucking unmatched. I’d satisfied myself with all manner of things over the years, big and small, long and short, thin and thick, this was better than the best, better than imagination.  
  
Fuck. I was a bitch in heat.  
  
Fuck. I humped.  
  
Fuck. I bounced.  
  
Fuck. I came.  
  
Fuck. He was a piece of meat.  
  
Growls and yowls let out as Sarah joined in humping against his leg, making her mark on him as my Beta.  
  
We were monsters.  
  
We were lovers.  
  
We were  **pack**.  
  


 

 

_...Wow. That was **amazing**._

 

 

 

 

* * *

**\- Dream Two -**  
 **Pipe Cleaner**  

* * *

 

 

 

 

 

  * _I can’t believe I let that take me over that way. She… she was so **happy,**  so free… but that doesn’t make it  **right**. The way it felt… pinning him down… I… I never want to be treated that way. Thought of that way. Looked at that way. I don’t want to be  **conquered**  that way. But… without Beeps, I’d have been Tom years ago, probably. I love making people happy, appreciating them, showing them they deserve to be loved, and why it’s true… But I don’t want to learn to do the same for someone like that, some kind of sadistic predator. To be  **made**  to learn._  
  
 _Is that… If I let Faust go ahead with her plan… would that change? How much about me **would**? Skeletons… I’ve done some reading… after the become monsters, they think they were always women, right? Even when they were actually guys before they died? There’s nothing wrong with women, not much difference, I really believe that… I could learn to live with it. Half the world does, and everyone’s still here… Overall, I doubt I’d even be much different… But that delusion being forced on me, what would it do to my mind?_  
  
 _I mean... how much of my life this past few weeks has been **defined**  by my being a man? …Honestly, most of it, and the experiences have changed me a  **lot**. Would my memories of these past weeks even… make any sense to me, if I was magically forced to believe I'd been a woman the whole time? What would I lose in translation? Even if nothing, even if I made myself believe that Blackberry had desperately wanted a woman as her husband, for instance, and then after I rose had just suddenly changed her mind to wanting a guy… how unsettling would that disconnect be for Beeps? For Blackberry? For Faust? Amy? Would that… would **I**  push them away?_  
  
 _The girls… they’re always so happy when we’re together. I’ve… never been the most… aggressive. The most strong-willed. What would that pleasure turn **me** into?  Demonic Energy, it changes you. The experiences I’ve had in their bodies were transcendent, brief though they were. If I had a… ugh… a husband… wouldn’t I work as hard to satisfy him as I do them? What would I let him make me into, let the Demonic Energy make me into, just to please him? Just to feel that hunger ease? Would he look at me like that werewolf looked at Tom? I’ve known a lot of men who would… Would I learn to **want**  him to?_  
  
 _What… what do I do?_



  
Sewer. Wet. Sticky. Stinky.  
  


 

  * _...It’s starting._



Home. Bubbles pop. Pop pop pop. Happy sound. Like sound. Like smell. Husband will too.  
  


 

  * _It’s… er, **she’s**  a Bubble Slime, right? Kinda simple, really smelly? They don’t convert women… I think. So… maybe this will be a happier dream? She meets a lonely construction worker with no sense of smell or something? A cute romance?_



Slither long. Hide. Wait. Long time. Husband soon? Believe. Happy soon. …Hungry.  **So hungry.**  
  


 

  * _That’s no lie. She’s starving. I recognize the feeling from my time as Faust… but this is worse. Much worse. Has she **ever**  eaten? …She’s kinda scrawny. This… probably isn’t going to be cute romance, is it?_



Pipes! Pipes! Good! Slime like! Practice! Husband need eat tasty slime. Slime need practice. Fit inside! Yummy ground. Dirt. Yum! Grime. Yum!  
  


 

_Dirt. Yum! Grime. Yum! Poor girl needs a husband. Slimes need to feed their husbands their_ _tasty_ _slime._

  
Climb! Up! So tall! Big pipe! Husband? Sneaky! Pop pop pop. Husband hide up long pipe! Only best slime find! Slime best slime! Slime find!  
  
“Hus… band?” Sneaky voice. Husband hear. Mean ladies not.  
  
“What was that? Who’s there!?” Good smell! Husband! Sneaky! “I have a bat!”  
  
Bat? Bats tasty! Yummy bat dirt. Good taste, husband. Pop pop pop.  
  
“What is… that awful smell!?” Husband make sick noise! Husband sick!? Slime fix!  
  


 

_She just wants to be happy. She loves him! Slimes need their husbands._ _It’s important._  
 _He’ll understand. He’ll agree. She knows what's best!_

  
Bright! Light! Danger! Husband! Light! Danger!  
  
“What… Oh, fuck!” Husband speak.  
  
Fuck? Fuck. “Fuck!” Husband want fuck? Slime want fuck! Husband! Slide close! Pop pop pop.  
  
“Oh no,” Sick noise!? Help husband! “No no no!”  
  
Husband leg tasty! Keep dirty for Slime!  
  


 

_When was the last time this guy **bathed**? ...As long as she’s happy, I guess._

  
Husband hips tasty! Much tasty! Tasty everywhere!  
  


 

_Oh. Uh… That’s… that’s just… ewww…_

  
Yum yum husband! Yum yum dirt!  
  


 

_It’s just really kinda-_ _Y ~~um yum husband! Yum yum dirt!~~_ ~~~~

  
Slime eat tasty husband dick. Yum yum cum.  
  


 

_~~Yum~~  _ _yum_ _~~cum~~._

  
Slime up husband! Husband face! Husband cute! Kiss husband!  
  
“Eat!” Pop pop pop.  
  
“Not on your-  _blug_ ” Husband open mouth! Husband smart! Husband hungry! Feed husband!  
  
“ _Ugh, bluh,_ it’s… it’s… _”_  
  
Husband sit! Husband stay!

 

  
_Husband sit! ~~Husband stay!~~_ ~~~~

  
“Mmmmm…  _Ugh…_  Smells… good?”  
  
Husband do what Slime say!

 

  
_~~Husband do~~  what Slime say!_

_..._

_Hah… Hah… oh… that was… I felt... from both… Wow…_

_~~We~~  are  ~~one.~~_   
_We ~~are~~  one._

 

 

 

* * *

 

**\- Dream Three -**   
**A Harrowing Tail**

* * *

 

 

 

 

 

_MMm ~~mMmm~~ mm…_

Fuck waiting. I love him. I’m done with this stupid dance. I give him a card? Nothing. I make him a meal? Nothing. I ask him out? Nothing! Did it even register? He’s mine! I’m the one who cares, me! Not those floozies! Not his friends! Not his family! Me! I care!

I waited for him here, in the secluded alley behind the merchantways. He’d been told where to meet me. It was dirty, gross, and kind of a cliché… But a back alley was a good place for something like this. I was going to force him to appreciate me the way I appreciate him! The way I  _want_  to be appreciated! I ain’t no bitch, playing coy! I ain’t no demure little fuckbag you can toy with and set aside! Fuck!

I clenched my claws, as my tail moved back and forth, stalking my prey. Easy girl. I know you’re hungry. I am too. I’m so tired of that shitty golem-made dreck. I’m not drinking even one more random spunk-shake, either, Holstaur milk or no. It’s almost enough, but by the time you drink it the jizz has gone… stale. The energy leaks out. It happens quickly. I’ve never even tried the real stuff, straight from a lover, but I just… know it isn’t right. My body screams it. I’m sick of the alternatives. Sick of waiting. Sick of trying to rub one out with these big dopey paws.

“Jessica? What’s up?” Kevin. Ugh. About time. I love you, Kevin. Why can’t you  _see_  it? “Alex said you wanted to talk.”

*snkt*

The spine lodged deep into his shoulder. He clutched at it, in pain.

“Wha… What?” I did it! Finally! Ugh… I waited and waited but…

“It’s your fault, Kevin.” I said. He fell to his knees, erection already straining at his pants. “You should have fucked me by choice. I’d have been nicer. Now you’re gonna be mine,  _my way_ , and I’m gonna  **make**  you like it. Beg for it. Beg for me.”

My tail swerved and swayed, eager. Hungry. That’s right girl, it’s time. We’re remaking ourselves tonight. The hunt’s over. She dripped and oozed in anticipation. I kissed at her a little, her numerous folds, like tiny tentacles, instinctively pulling at my chin and tongue, before deciding I wasn’t what she wanted.

I knew the feeling.

Kevin was tearing his pants open, crying, screaming. The toxin left him aware, but not in control, as his body sought release here in the alley. A victim could beg, and plead, even sometimes try to run, awkwardly, but his body had a new  _need_. I’d always thought it was… cruel. But… The way I’d been treated was crueler still. At least I intended to give him release. At least his torment would  _end_.

Actually, both of our torments would be over tonight. Here and now.

His dick was oozing. Spurting. Every touch of his finger sent more cum to the ground, but it wasn’t quite ready yet. As I watched, the spurts became ropes, ropes became streams, and streams finally transitioned into constant flow. It was time.

*snkt*

Another one. Just to be sure.

I stepped closer, my efforts to hold myself back no longer needed. I was about to fulfill my purpose. Fill myself with energy, send a tithe to my Lord within, but keep some for me, too. Mine.

**Mine.**

MINE.

My tail lashed out, wrapping its opening around the torrent of cum leaking from my husband’s envenomed body.  **Yes…**  Oh, it was everything we dreamed of every night, wasn’t it sweetie? Like my mouth stretched full with my favorite foods from the human lands, but more, better! My husband’s cock was superior to every steak, every rabbit, every pig… Prepare them any way you liked, or eat them raw, or even live, nothing compared.

“Oh, Kevin…” I drooled, “I knew you were special… but hiding something like this? Locked away inside your pants? What a fucking crime!”

His hands wrapped around my tail the moment my spines retracted, as I knew they would, but it wasn’t to pull my tail away, not like he’d likely thought.

He needed my body like I needed his, now.

His hands and arms resumed the pumping motion they’d been pleasing his prick with, this time, with the toughened outer skin of my tail between them and it, a new kind of satisfaction.

His jizz flowed down through my tail, his energy dispersing into my body. Remaking it. Ugh… the  ** _CHANGE_!** Finally, a real woman! A real Manticore! Married! Mated! Ugh, finally  **properly**  fucked!

My smallish breasts ballooned in size, my husband was a tit man, and my body  _would_  satisfy. My long, coarse, rough fur on my arms and legs, along my neck, it fell out, replaced with soft, short, fluffy stuff that would have embarrassed me if it weren’t my husband’s delight. My wings grew… no, my body shrunk! He wanted me a little smaller than him? That was okay. I loved him. I would  ** _CHANGE_**  for him.

My teeth and nails dulled, a little, my muscle definition lessening. Oh? Was I too frightening for you, Kevin? Too intimidating? Is that what it was? I can look fluffy and cute, that’s fine. I wouldn’t be any less dangerous, my claws would merely sharpen when it was time to hunt.

My butt expanded, an ass-man too? What a fucking  _deviant_. His empty-eyed grin grew as my body  ** _CHANGED_**  to suit him, continuing to pleasure himself with my tail, to teach my body his wishes. But that was the trick. My body might transform until you can’t resist it anymore… but it’s a trap, Kevin. Now you belong to  _me._ No other woman can give you this, give you  **exactly**  what you want, and  _you’re not strong enough to take it from me_. I’m in control. You’re. Mine.

My pussy shifted, slightly, taking cues from my tail about the shape, size and length of its impending prisoner, crafting the  **perfect**  fit. Oh, I’d let him go afterwards, of course… but he’d come back. He’d beg. No matter how much he fought it... in the end, he wouldn't be able to help himself.

He might own my  _body_ , but now…?

I owned  _him_.

**MINE.**

...

_MINE..._

 

 

 

* * *

 

 

I startled awake. That had been… intense. A woman becoming a werewolf, and turning a friend, claiming a husband… Yikes. I didn’t like knowing how that felt, how it felt to  _enjoy_  that. To want to make the pack even  _bigger_. A Manticore, poisoning some guy she knows, and making him into her regular snack? I was even less pleased. I know she was hungry, that she genuinely loved him, but… Why did it have to be so… mean-spirited? And… a simple-minded Bubble Slime ‘convincing’ a man to be her husband, flowing around inside him, making him into an addict?  ~~Well, at least that one was perfectly normal and wholesome.~~  
  
And it wasn’t all bad in the others, either. I was happy, at least, that the werewolf girl hadn’t bowed to the monster that turned her, that she’d been able to reunite with her female friend as something of an equal… I was glad that the Manticore would finally be appreciated, that her lover finally found her attractive, but the way they treated their husbands was so… cruel. I’d never want Faust or Amy or any of the others to treat me that way. Or my… future husband, if Faust gets impatient with my… ‘aliveness’. It’s not how  _I’d_  want to treat anyone, either.  
  
 ~~Super cute Bubble Slime marriage aside,~~  I wasn’t too happy with what I’d been shown. They were… faked, from what I understood. Not real. But… from what I’d seen, it still wasn’t anything I wanted Blackberry involved in, even if it broke her little heart. I’d need to have a talk with Magenta. Take Faust along, while the others were busy. I could fit that in before Blackberry and I had our date tonight.  
  
But first…  
  
I sat up, carefully, moving Sally’s arm off of me.  
  
“Morning, Beeps,” I whispered.  
  
“Morning.” It baffled me that she could just lay still for hours, doing nothing but watching me sleep. While us sharing a bed was new, she’d always been watching when I woke up, ever since I was small, even if I woke in the middle of the night from a nightmare. How did she not get bored? Well… Beeps was gonna do her thing, I guess.  
  
“Those… dreams. They were kind of disturbing.” I looked at her… “Beeps?”  
  
“Yes?”  
  
“You… you do love me, right? I’m not just food?” I knew she did, I just needed to hear it.  
  
She sat up, put her hand on my shoulder.  
  
“Lyle.”  
  
“I know; I know… It’s just those dreams… the girls in them, the need they felt, the way they satisfied it… it was… horrible. I don’t want to be like that. I don’t want  _you_  to be like that.”  
  
“Beloved.” She insisted, tapping my chest. “Master.”  
  
I turned and hugged her. “Thanks. I love you too, you know?”  
  
She steamed, venting at a low hiss, “A…affirmative.”  
  
“Good.” I looked around. “Where’s Akubra?”  
  
Beeps shuddered. “Departed.”  
  
“Oh? Did she say why?”  
  
“Nonsense.” Beeps said.  
  
Right. I forgot, she freaks you out. “What’s the deal with you and her, anyway?”  
  
Beeps paused for a moment, then pointed at her chest. “Errors.” Her finger pointed to her head, this time. “Nonsense.”  
  
“She… freaks out your senses… and makes your gears unsteady? How?”  
  
Beeps shuddered again. “Wonderland.” Her voice was always flat, and empty, but there were nuances to it, little subtleties that years of listening to her had taught me to notice. Beeps  _did not like_  Wonderland.  
  
“Huh. Sorry, Beeps. If I knew how to make her leave… I’d do that. For you. I don’t though, and Faust seems baffled too.”  
  
“Fire?”  
  
Ah… “I don’t think… uh… burning her is an option, Beeps. Let’s try to avoid lighting people on fire where possible, especially now that we don’t have the townsfolk pushing for it anymore. The church had enough power back in town to make that happen, but… When my…” Parents, “whenever  _they_  escaped… I admit I was glad, even if it meant more monsters running free. I always thought it was… wrong. I still do, now more than ever. I considered it a sort of failure, as the Sheriff, to have had to watch that. To let it happen. People under my protection, destroyed by my inability to keep them safe.”  
  
Beeps thought about that for a while, somewhat solemnly. “Understandable.”  
  
“But… that’s not what we’re in bed to talk about… Is it Beeps? What do you say we wake up Sally? Get you two  _fed_?” Just the idea was making me horny, frankly. I was full in an almost painful way.  
  
She nodded.  
  
I turned to Sally, shaking her shoulder. “Hey… Faust. Faust, wake up.”  
  
She rolled over, making a groaning sound. It was suspiciously Zombie-like. They’d show up in the graveyard sometimes, the sound was distinct.  
  
“Faust… if you don’t wake up, I’ll feed Beeps first.”  
  
She bolted upright. “Huh? Buh? Wuh? Lyle? My darling? I thought… I thought I’d heard an injustice being perpetrated… what… what happened?”  
  
Heh. “Don’t worry about it, Sally. You hungry?”  
  
Her eyes turned to me, flirtatiously predatory gleam entering them. Having been a predator, in my dreams last night, the difference was easy to discern. “Oh, certainly.” She looked at Beeps. “Equals, yes?”  
  
“Equals,” Beeps affirmed.  
  
I wonder what that’s about? Glad they’re on good terms, anyway.  
  
The covers slithered and gathered, the excess fabric disappearing to that ‘away’ place that part of me was connected to in an almost mind-bending way, somehow both physically present here, and also simultaneously touching all the rest of itself, of  ~~myself~~ , in that ‘other’ space. There wasn’t really anything to compare with… but I thought I was getting pretty big.  
  
My pajamas slid apart, keeping me warm and comfy while also exposing my desire to my wives, catching both their attentions at the same time. With Beeps at my right, and Faust at my left, I suddenly realized what they’d meant by ‘equals’.  
  
“Wait-”  
  
They did not wait.  
  
They fell upon me, my erection hallowed ground for their cooling feud, and so instead of fighting, they began competing for my attentions, each trying to give more pleasure than the other. Faust lay upon my left leg, grinding up and down it, while Beeps was happy to please only me, and made no effort to enhance things for herself.  
  
Faust’s elongated tongue wrapped around the base of my cock, forming a near-perfect circle, and began moving up and down the length,  _jerking me off_ , the disturbing sight of it quickly settling out of my mind as the pleasure mounted, while Beeps kissed at the crown of it, servicing it gently, sweetly, her mouth never quite leaving the tip exposed.  
  
"Mmmm... I... love you girls... I... I'm so happy..."  
  
Of course, under such…  _creative_  attentions, I didn’t last long, and felt myself cum deeply into Beeps' eager mouth, her chilly metal tongue swirling around the head of it as the pressure within me eased only slightly. As soon as the flow ceased, Beeps wasted no time in disengaging, and Faust did the same, the two kissing, and presumably, sharing my energies equally, both swallowing with satisfied noises. As enticing as the sight was, I was more than a bit impatient. I was still far too full to be called 'satisfied'. "Girls... I need more..."  
  
They obliged me, this time, Faust was at the head, taking almost the whole thing into her mouth and throat effortlessly. Her head bobbed up and down erratically, as her body straddled mine, leaving her pussy exposed to my attentions, but only if I could focus them. Just as my mind cleared enough that I thought to take advantage, though, Beeps began _licking at my balls_ , introducing me to a sensation I hadn’t realized I was  **totally in love**  with, and shortly after earning the two another load. Faust tackled Beeps, leading her to the end of the bed, between my spread legs, again sharing the love, spreading the meal between them in their passionate kisses, and delightfully throaty noises soon followed.  
  
They both turned back to me, stalking across the bed on all fours, and brought their faces back between my thighs, bodies each over one of my legs, this time synchronized as they licked up and down my length, then alternating directions, one up, the other down, then Faust went wild, while Beeps trailed her tongue along the most direct path between the most sensitive spots. "Aaahhh... Aahhhhh!" The differences in their performances were clearly delineated, Faust's frenzied passions and Beeps' expert efficiency, but each was so effective that it made it difficult to even focus on the feelings, to acknowledge what was happening without simply falling into a pit of delightful, mindless bliss.  
  
And still it didn’t stop.  
  
I felt myself being directly stimulated by Faust’s magic, no fancy tricks, just mana and pleasure, both on my dick, but also at an utterly  **magical**  spot  _inside me_ , "What the fuck!?" somewhere I’d never felt before, but suddenly wanted to feel for the rest of my life, "Holy shit!" and cum flew through the air, "Don't ever stop doing that, fucking... wow!" their coordinated efforts letting not a drop hit the bed. I covered both their faces, and they licked each other clean, the sight of their shameless display stimulating me enough to continue cumming upon them, endlessly, Faust’s magic still attacking me, both inside and out.  
  
Just when I thought I was done, and Faust's spellwork let up, to my sigh of disappointed relief, Beeps settled herself onto me, spreading her mechanical folds over top of my erection, milking further passion from a well I’d thought near dry, as Faust looked on in jealousy, watching how our bodies mated with delirious envy. "Fuck, fuck, fuck, yessss...." Beeps rose and fell, Faust following first with her eyes, then her whole head, nodding along with Beep's thrusts onto my body, implicitly cheering her on, accepting her right, before shaking herself out of it, only to get swept up again, over and over. After Beeps was satisfied at her fullness, and it took more time than I could believe, given what we'd already done, she lifted herself off, spunk leaking out in globs, but Faust let none go to waste, jamming her tongue deep inside my maid, cleaning out what was left loose inside her, and preventing even a drop from escaping into the mattress.  
  
Faust was completely distracted, but… I was still horny. Somehow. I knew she… wouldn’t want me to take her vaginal virginity… but we had shared something else together just recently…  
  
I buried myself in Faust’s ass, causing a surprised, muffled scream, giving way to impassioned, exultant moans, echoing through Beeps' hollow body like a chorus. I thrust in and out at speed, her muscles clenching and caressing, seeming to be under her complete control as she held me within, I took the chance to kiss at Beeps, without thinking, but there seemed to be no leftover taste from where her mouth had been, only her sweet, oily, delightful fluids awaited me inside, and a tongue lolled out like a welcome mat.  
  
But satisfied as I was,  ~~I still wasn't satisfied~~.  
  
I pulled Faust off of Beeps, throwing her down on the bed, back down, body exposed to me, and Beeps, seeing  ~~my movements~~ , sensing my intentions, moved with an excited pace to match her on my right, sprawling herself out.  
  
"Again." She begged in monotone, "Master... Please..." Oh? Somebody  ~~liked this~~  last time, eh? I smiled across my body, my mouths and eyes beaming at her, joy filling me at the further acceptance of another.  
  
"What? Beepatrice, what are you...?" Faust opened her mouth, and I  ~~flooded~~  into her. I couldn't achieve the same penetration with her that I could Beeps, not only was she organic, and so not hollow in the same way, she was also still holding back on me, and I'd respect that, but I violated her in every other way, fucking her every other crevice and orifice, from the gaps between her toes, to her mouth and ass, to even her pores, and in a throwback which  ~~delighted~~  me, her ears as well. She screamed adulations into me, her body learning my talented ministrations by heart, while Beepatrice writhed impatiently.  
  
"Master..." she begged, again.  
  
And so I  ~~filled~~  her too, flowing in and out of every gap and gear, a more effective lubricant that even her own efficient offerings, steam and cum pouring out of her as I took her in a way that had become familiar to us, her body losing its coordinated prowess and becoming animal as well beneath my attentions.  
  
We kept at it until we heard a knock on the door, Amy announcing they needed Beeps to be ready to go.  
  
We reluctantly disentangled ourselves.

 

 

* * *

 

 

 

Magenta’s studio warehouse was as big as I remembered it being, and the size made some sense to me now. Two of the dreams I’d experienced had been fairly contained, but one had featured a run through the forest. If that was actually made here, they’d need the space.  
  
Hmm. I wonder if that was why the Werewolf changed the direction she was chasing them, early on? Did they get too close to a wall? Maybe. If I understand how it works, anyway.  
  
Anemone, the Kraken receptionist, and their source of the valuable ink, who we’d spoken with briefly last time, greeted us as we entered. She was huge, the biggest Mamono I’d seen, dwarfing Blackberry, with a head the size of my torso, and a body to match. She had skin white like snow, which blued at the tips of her tentacles, and black markings across her body, which seemed natural, but happened to highlight her curves, tits, and hint at her vagina. Was it small, or proportional? I wondered, but didn’t ask. Her hair was a shoulder length mop of vibrant blue, and she wore spectacles. Likely by choice, since even the town doctor… back when I lived in town… had been able to fix that. Although glasses  _were_  easier for him, without excessive magic.  
  
“Hi Lyle, Faust. No Amy today?”  
  
“Hi Anemone, no, she’s out shopping.” “Greetings, Anemone, how do you find yourself?”  
  
“Uh… with my eyes?”  
  
Faust sighed. “No, I meant… how are you feeling?”  
  
“Uh… with my… tentacles?”  
  
Faust frowned. “How do you do?”  
  
“…Also with my tentacles?”  
  
Faust looked down, breathed out in frustration, fists clenching, back straightening, preparing a tirade.  
  
“Faust, she’s  _teasing_ you.” I said, fondly.  
  
Faust looked up, shaken out of her stride and somewhat disbelieving.  
  
“With my mouth,” Anemone confirmed.  
  
Faust looked embarrassed. “My apologies. Too much time with Blackberry, I believe.”  
  
Yeah, that would do it.  
  
“Oh? I’ve heard about her! How innocent is she, really?” She seemed excited, tentacles slapping the water that separated the reception area from the rest of the studio. Receptionist, yes, but also the bouncer.  
  
“Innocent enough we’re concerned.” I said, “we’re trying to resolve it a little today, but she’s only sipped at spirit energy though hugs, kisses, and chaste cuddling.”  
  
Anemone looked sad, shoulders falling. “Oh… that’s less fun…”  
  
“We’re hoping taking it slow preserves her outlook, because… honestly, she’s a delight.”  
  
“Truly an honest soul,” Faust confirmed, “and a treasure because of it.”  
  
“You’re all treasures to me,” I said.  
  
Faust blushed and spluttered while I pretended not to notice for her dignity’s sake.  
  
“Anyway…” I said, “Is Magenta in? I’d still like to talk to her, and I watched some of those dreams she left me, so… I’d like to talk with her even more, now.”  
  
Anemone shifted and splashed, smiling “She was really excited for you to watch those! How many did you take?”  
  
“The first three.” I said.  
  
“Oh? Did… you like the  _taste_ , Lyle?”  
  
Oh fuck! That ink comes out of her! I didn’t consider for even a second how sexual that was!  
  
It was my turn to stutter and stumble while Faust looked on, amused. No efforts to spare  _my_  dignity, I see. What a butt.  
  
Also, damn, what a  _butt_.  
  
No, Lyle, here for a reason, calm down.  
  
No _,_   _calm down_ , I said.  
  
My hand slipped over to feel her up on its own, I swear.  
  
“Eep!” She covered her mouth, eyes wide, but it was too late.  
  
I turned and stared. “Eep? Faust,  _really_?”  
  
“I will not hear of it, Lyle,” She said, scowling, “You know perfectly well why I would be a bit sensitive there today.”  
  
Mmmm.  ** _Yeah_**  I do.  
  
My tentacles started to rise up, out of my street clothes, swaying as they did, and I took a step forward.  
  
She looked only slightly alarmed, and mostly eager, drooling, eyes following my back-and-forth, enraptured. “Lyle, Lyle… we came here for a reason!”  
  
“Did we?” I mused, as I tickled at her, “which reasons were they again?”  
  
“Aaahh… They… Mmmm… Blackberry, Lyle, Blackberry!”  
  
Oh, right.  
  
“Right, sorry.” I said.  
  
“Do not apologize for such delights, Lyle, please never do, just remember they have a time and place.”  
  
Right. Gotta get myself under control. I can do that.  
  
I think.  
  
Anemone looked on at us with blatant interest, cooing a little.  
  
“You two are  _cute~_  together!”  
  
I put my hand behind my head. “Uh, thanks.”  
  
“No, thank you!” She said, “I know what  _I’m_  gonna be thinking about all day.” She was already fingering herself, hand lost in a mess of swirling limbs.  
  
As she lifted us over the moat, I asked, “Hey… your… uh, your pussy, is it… you know?”  
  
“Big?” She asked.  
  
“…Yeah.”  
  
“Keep being so cute, maybe you’ll find out, you little tentacle fiend.” She winked at me.  
  
Yeah, that was probably the answer I should have expected.  
  
We wandered further in, passing through the doorway on the other side.  
  
The room was still small, but there was a glass wall on one end of it, extending to the ceiling. Through the other side, a snowscape loomed, likely the focus of another dream in progress. If I didn’t know it was fake, I’d have believed in it. Hell, I was half tempted to believe anyway.  
  
  


 

  * But I hadn’t packed enough cold weather gear. I was probably going to die out here. Cold. Alone. A virgin. How could it have-



  
“Try not to look directly at it, sweetie.” A dripping woman, covered in slime and tentacles, her skin a light blue, with a purple ‘dress’ made from her oozing flesh engulfing her. At her waist was a squid-like creature, humping at her ceaselessly, it eyes dancing with mindless glee.  
  
That’s a  _MINDFLAYER_. I leapt away. Married or not, they were dangerous.  
  
She chuckled, “Oh? Not interested in trying out another perspective, sweetie? Why are you here then, I wonder? My Dream Team and I specialize in  _exactly_  that kind of thing.”  
  
I knew they had one, but she talks like she  _runs_  the place. “I thought Magenta was the owner?”  
  
“She has the money, the passion, and the talent, true… she comes from a long, proud family.” The woman said. “However, when it comes to the bedroom, she bows to me, even if no other, and so in practice, I am in charge.”  
  
Huh.  
  
“Personally, although she could never submit to a man,” she said, “I believe she  _aches_  to. When I share the taste of our husband with her… oh, the sights I see. I am, with the depth of my control over my poor, sweet dear one,” she gestured to the squid, “as close to it as she can allow herself to get.”  
  
Weird… I guess I expected Magenta to be unmarried? I… maybe that’s kind of presumptuous of me. We were looking for a succubus, and I met a Demon, I guess… I just assumed? That would be arrogant, normally, but that’s how it’s worked so far, so…  
  
But... Faust wanted a succubus? Where will we find her one? I guess we’ll have to have those interviews after all?  
  
Alright.  
  
“So… is she around, or…?”  
  
“Yes, though she is currently in the communication room.” She said, “ If you wish to speak to her, you must wait. Would you like an explanation of the process, while you do? I believe your wife is considering stardom?”  
  
“I’ve been thinking about it actually. Do you mind if I guess?”  
  
She gestured magnanimously, “By all means.”  
  
Faust looked at me, curiously. Her smug grins when I’d asked her about it made me believe she already knew how it worked… but she wouldn’t tell me… time to impress.  
  
“I think… Magenta is your recruiter. She goes out and finds Mamono and humans to star in your movies, although how she does that exactly, I don’t know. I doubt you get all of your humans willingly, if any of them.”  
  
The Mindflayer smiled, gesturing me onward.  
  
“I know you have a Doppelganger who stars as well, and her usefulness there is obvious, but I bet the Phantom is your eyes out there. When  _you_  take the memories out of the actors' heads, she’s the perspective you use for sight. She never gets spotted by the others because she’s invisible and intangible. She makes the imaginary landscapes with her magical inclinations, and she knows the best spots to see her scenarios play out.”  
  
The Mindflayer nodded, again indicating I should keep going.  
  
“Then you give the stitched together memory to your mage, possibly a Nightmare, since it’s their hunting spell that gets inscribed into the fruit, using Anemone’s ink. Am I close?”  
  
“Quite close indeed, although Magenta does less recruiting these days, and often plays the corrupting force to supplement. We are famous enough now that these days we get applicants, Mamono, yes, but including addicted humans. Using the prisoner fruit was  _my_  idea, you know? Those humans who yearn for the pleasures we have taught to them to be inflicted on their waking flesh, they seek us out of their own initiative. We still capture some, for authenticity, but my attentions, coupled with those of our Phantom, Aria, are together enough to make even the willing believe for a time that they never consented, if necessary. Most Mamono find it more believable, that they will be unwanted at first, even if it isn’t their  _preference,_  per se.”  
  
That’s a little sad.  
  
She grinned, satisfied. “It works quite well, although I’m impressed you mostly deduced the process.”  
  
“I am as well.” Faust admitted, rubbing at herself, “Tell me, Lyle, did you consult your  _Deputy_?”  
  
I frowned. “No. I had the time and motivation to think it through, I knew who most of the members were, and I was never a  _useless_  Sheriff, despite your insistences. It wasn’t too hard.”  
  
She patted me on the head. “Of course not, darling.”  
  
Ugh.

 

 

* * *

 

 

 

The ‘communication’ room was a euphemism, I learned. It seemed Magenta had needed to let off some steam. We sat on a couch outside the door, waiting. When the door unlocked, the Mindflayer, who’s name I realized I hadn’t gotten, departed without so much as a word. The smell of sex oozed out of the sealed doorway, instantly putting my body on alert. Magenta stepped out, and I saw the silhouette of a small woman behind her, but as she too left the room, her appearance shifted to something… familiar? I’d seen this woman before… somewhere.  
  
“Ugh.” The woman said, “he’s a sadsack. I’m not staying for this.”  
  
“You’re… a Doppelganger, right?” I asked.  
  
“Yeah, yeah, and I look like your childhood friend, or maybe your wank bait, I know, I know.” She must get really tired of that. Gotta be a lot of women around this town with… unrequited feelings.  
  
“Actually…” I said, “I can’t figure out  _who_  you are.”  
  
She stopped her exit from the room. “Really? That’s unusual.”  
  
I looked over at Sally, “Hey Faust, do you know-”  
  
She looked  **terrible**. She was staring at the woman, and her eyes were red, she had snot running down her nose, and she was weeping openly, although she hadn’t seemed to notice yet, her body crying on its own.  
  
“Sally, are you okay?” I asked, hand on her shoulder.  
  
She looked at me, shock in her eyes, then back and forth between me and the woman.  
  
I peered closer at the Doppelganger, trying to puzzle it out. I didn’t have a sister, but…  
  
“Did you have a crush on my  _Mom_ , Sally? I mean, no judgement, but… for her to be at that age, you must have been what, six? That’s… pretty early.”  
  
“Ah… Yes, yes, Lyle, I am deeply infatuated with… your mother.”  
  
The woman looked at her disapprovingly, glancing between me, with my hands on Sally’s knees, and Sally, crying her heart out.  
  
“This is just pathetic.” The woman said, and I scowled at her.  
  
“I know this must be commonplace for you, but she’s in pain.”  
  
“She’s an idiot is what she is.”  
  
I stood up. “Oh, grow a heart, will you? You can’t talk about her like that.”  
  
Her face twisted in a sneer. “’Grow a heart’? That’s a laugh. If you two had a brain between you-”  
  
“Kara, enough.”  
  
She looked at Magenta, thrown immediately out of her bitchy attitude, “But cupcake…?”  
  
“No, Kara, enough, now.”  
  
The woman, Kara, hung her head, turning and leaving the room in a sulk.  
  
As she left, I thought I… No, no… that couldn’t be right. ...Could it?  
  
Faust took a moment to pull herself together, and I ignored Magenta for all of it, being there for Sally as best I could, stroking her back, running my fingers through her hair, the whole nine yards.  
  
Only once she’d collected herself did I turn back to the Demon.  
  
“I had the first three dreams last night.”  
  
She raised an eyebrow, leaning forward, her tail making a slow, intermittent ‘fwap’ing noise as it impacted the cushion of the couch opposite of us, where she’d sat. “Oh? Three? Braver than I thought. What did you think?”  
  
“The spell’s well made, and I certainly got taken in, but it was all too… cruel, too mean-spirited for me.”  
  
She scoffed. “Honey, grow a pair. You gotta be tough to get what you want out of a lover.”  
  
I frowned. “I don’t agree.”  
  
She rolled her eyes. “Well, break it down, then, I want specifics. If I’m gonna change up your regimen, I need to know what made you most wet.”  
  
“Hard, you mean?”  
  
She snorted, waving her hand, “Immaterial.”  
  
I let it go. “The first one… The werewolves… I liked it the least. I was happy that the friends got to stay together, even if things changed, and that they didn’t bow to the monster that made them,” She leaned forward, “but the way they treated Tom once they pinned him down… it was unsettling.” She leaned back, crossing her arms. “The transformation… it felt good, really good…” She smiled, “But becoming so animal… I don’t know.”  
  
She waved me on.  
  
“The Manticore dream…” I started, “it was interesting, I admit. The way having sex via her tail changed her into the form ideal for her lover so quickly, how happy with that she was despite how drastic a shift it was…” I noticed, out of the corner of my eye, Faust listening with rapt attention, “It was cute. I was happy for her, that because of her efforts she was finally appreciated by the one she obviously truly adored…” Magenta nodded, “But that poison, the underlying mania and aggression… I just felt repulsed.” Now she was frowning. Woman, make up your mind.  
  
“You couldn’t get into it at all?” She asked.  
  
“No, not that extreme… more like, uh…” I paused. “Like how she felt when remembering the Golem powder, or the milkshake. Almost satisfying, in the moment, but not what I really wanted, and it left me feeling hollow and a little sick.”  
  
She nodded, thoughtfully.  
  
“As for the last one…” I smiled, “I had a connection to it, I admit. The way that cute little slime got her Husband all wrapped up inside her and fed him her  ~~tasty slime~~  made my heart glad. But even there… You control what happens in these dreams, right? Couldn’t she have met a sewer worker? Saved him, gotten to know him, won him over?”  
  
“I feel like you’re missing the point,” She said, “that isn’t how things work. You find a husband, and unless you’re gonna be his little bitch, you pin him down and make him like it. That’s the only way to be sure.”  
  
Faust nodded, reluctantly, but I said, “I really think that’s wrong.”  
  
“Oh?” Magenta spoke, but even Faust looked at me curiously.  
  
“Watch,” I said to Magenta, turning to Faust. “Do you want to have sex?”  
  
“Here? Now? In front of her? I think I’ll decline.” Sally said, affronted.  
  
“Hah!” Magenta laughed, “Very convincing!”  
  
But I wasn’t done.  
  
I didn’t look away from Sally, putting the back of my right hand to her cheek, gently, running it under her chin, down her chest, “Because  _I_  want to have sex with you. I think you’re beautiful.” Her cheeks turned pink. “I can’t be in a room with you without noticing that, it’s such an obvious and present fact. The way your mind blasts along at full speed, solving problems that anyone else would call impossible, it makes me so horny I can’t believe it. The way you use all these enormous words, like you can’t bear that anyone not realize just how brilliant you really are, it’s adorable, and my desire for you rises with every syllable.”  
  
I brought my face closer to hers as her eyes tracked mine, her breathing speeding up, letting my breath settle on her skin, “The way the light dances in your eyes when you explain how you’ve accomplished the impossible in a way that  _almost_  seems like you don’t realize the scale what you’ve done, but for that tiny tell, and how you still treat us well, treat even Blackberry with kindness, love, with respect, despite her relative simplicity… it drives me wild for you.”  
  
I put my hands on her shoulders. “That drive to improve, to do what others are afraid to do, how you push me to be better, to act when I’m afraid, unsure, or confused, how you treat me like I matter, despite your prowess and persistence meaning you could have walked into any castle in the land and been at the top of the hierarchy in a week, Sally, how could I not want you  _uncontrollably_?”  
  
She shuddered. I leaned forward, whispering in her ear. “Sally, my love, my wife, do you want to have sex?”  
  
She tore off her cloak. “ _Lord_  yes.”  
  
She laid down on the couch, presenting herself to me, like we were alone in the room, and I ran my fingers along her cheeks, playing at the flesh I’d made so sensitive only hours ago.  
  
“Ah, Lyle, please… not-”  
  
“I know sweetheart, I promise.”  
  
She quieted, making a contented noise as I slid into her ass once more, taking her brazenly in front of the Demon, kneeling on her couch, far from home, only my tender, understanding words necessary to enable this endeavor, because in learning to so deeply understand her, even incompletely, I’d captured her more thoroughly than any dark energy could ever do.  
  
I looked at Magenta, impaling herself with her tail, rapidly climaxing. I guess that did it for her too.  
  
I came quickly, as I often did, my desire to feed my wives trumping any effort to hold myself back, but I kept up for a few minutes, simply fucking her here, proving my desire, and let loose several more times before I slid out.  
  
“Mmm…” she said, happily snuggling into the cushions for a nap. I'd have to carry her home, likely. Still worth it.  
  
“You see?” I asked the Demon, “I got exactly what I wanted there, no force necessary. No cruelty. I just know her intimately, heart and soul, and I genuinely appreciate her. I can afford to go slow, to be  _gentle_.”  
  
Magenta was flushed, reeking of cum and sweat. “Subjugation through gentle, aaah… Gentle temptation...? I think… I can work with that.”  
  
I smiled.


	8. 8

* * *

****

**\- Interlewd -**   
**Pony Pals**

* * *

  
  
  
  
  
  
We walked through the stalls and streets of the ‘human’ wares section of Morningwood. Right now, we were on Husband street, and we’d just finished browsing the meats. I knew humans liked those… but I didn’t think I could cook something like that. Now we were looking at veggies and fruits, but…  
  
“Amy, do you think he likes pickle, onion, and banana sandwiches?” I asked, nervous. What did I even make? I didn’t usually bother with fancy food when there was so much yummy grass and flowers around. I knew how to bake, every mare worth her saltlick did, but  _what_  to bake? What to make? I had too many recipes!  
  
Amy coughed, and she sounded surprised and unsure. “Do  _you_  like pickle, onion, and banana sandwiches?”  
  
“Of course!” My  **old**  Momma always made them for her husband, my daddy… who tragically had no sense of smell. They were a family staple.  _Oh daddy…_  
  
“Why… don’t you ask Beepatrice?” She suggested.  
  
That was a good idea! Mommas always made the best food! And Sally told me Momma cooked for Lyle all the time.  
  
I turned to her, and she was already looking at me, “Hey Momma?”  
  
“Allergic.”  
  
Oh no! “To which one?”  
  
“Combination.”  
  
“That’s horrible!” What dratted luck! Allergic to all of them, and only when brought together? Lyle didn’t know what he was missing, but I’d try not to brag.  
  
“It  _does_  sound pretty horrible,” Amy agreed.  
  
“We’ll just have to keep looking,” I announced!  
  
…What about another family recipe? Daddy liked them… Oats, ketchup, and mint, maybe? I wouldn’t give up!  
  
  


* * *

  
  
“And these,” the pretty, fluffy showmare, Alexia, said, looking at me excitedly, “these ones light up!”  
  
“No way,” I breathed, even Pinecone the Pretty didn’t have  _light-up_  hooves. Morningwood was  **amazing**!  
  
“Yep.” Her lips made a fun popping sound, the noise echoed in her tiny store, but at least she had a store. Some of the girls out there just had stalls to sell their stuff. She slipped into some she kept behind the counter, and then trotted around, showing off the shoes.  
  
They did light up! In every color as she stepped around, faster as she moved faster, slower as she slowed. She had two horns like me, but I guess maybe she was a cousin from the north? She said she was a ‘White Horn’. The tips of her horns  _were_  white, but if I were picking, I’d have gone with ‘Fluffy Body’. That sounded cuter, and her fluffy body definitely  _was_  cute. Brown fur, nice clean coat… her human bits were pretty too! Brown short hair, brown eyes, and she wore a cute pink swimsuit because “it’s too hot for anything else!” which was silly. It was actually staring to get a little chilly out!  
  
“Wow!” I looked at Amy, at Momma, “What do you girls think? Are these  _them_?”  
  
“I don’t know…” Amy said, “wouldn’t that wake everyone up?”  
  
“Bright.” Momma added.  
  
Drat. They were right. I looked sadly at the nice lady. “I… I think they’re right, Alexia.”  
  
She frowned. “Yeah, if you guys are all together…” She clapped. “Okay, we’ve been through everything else… It’s a long shot, but what about… these?”  
  
She trotted out from behind the counter, and led us over to a display, separate from the others. Fancy, engraved shoes sat on the table, faced so everybody could see them and be jealous. I was jealous, and I still might buy them!  
  
“They come with the standard stuff, better traction, magnetic ‘no-nail’ hoof-cling, even the fancier Kelpie-Canter enchantment, for water safety and beach-time fun, but…” She paused.  
  
I leaned in. “But?” Oh, I couldn’t wait! What was it? What could be better than  **lighting up**?  
  
“Well…” she said, “ancient tradition tells us of a time when Elves and White Horn worked as one to bring joy unto the children of the world.”  
  
Whoa. Ancient tradition. That’s serious.  
  
“Although those days are long past, the pinnacle achievement of those times was recently re-discovered. By chance, a set of those treasures wound up here, for sale in Morningwood, and the sales floor is a sacred place. I could never remove them from stock, not even for something so fantastical.”  
  
I was so excited!  
  
She whispered, and I leaned in to hear, “Supposedly, these shoes… let you gallop on the  _stars_.”  
  
“What!?” The stars? Wow! They’re so high up! I could be like the legendary Pegasus!  
  
“Can you show us?” Amy asked, arms crossed.  
  
“I’m afraid not.” Alexia said, sadly, shaking her head. “Buyers only. I want to try them myself so badly, but by my sacred code as shopkeep, it’s not allowed. Unfortunately, I have never even seen them in use. In truth, they are so ancient... the enchantment may even have expired.” That’s so unfair for her!  
  
“Uh huh.” Amy said.  
  
“But!” I said, “If  _we_  bought them… you could see for sure!”  
  
She nodded, smiling. “Exactly!”  
  
“Momma, can we?” I begged.  
  
“Cost?”  
  
Alexia frowned. “Can you really put a price on history? On the sky?” She spun slowly in place, arms wide, “They belong to everyone!”  
  
“So,” Amy said, arms still crossed, “They’re free, then?”  
  
Alexia frowned even more. “Well… no… It  _is_  an ancient secret.”  
  
“Uh huh.” Amy said, again.  
  
I held up the card Sally had given us. “Is this good enough?”  
  
“You have  _founder’s right_?” Uh oh. She looked mad. Not enough? “I… Who is your patron?”  
  
“Patron?” I asked, “Do you mean Sally?”  
  
“Wait,” Amy said, “Sally is… Sally  _Franks_? The human Founder? Like,  **really**  she is? I mean… she said something like that when we got to the house the first time, but… I thought it was a  _joke_.”  
  
“Oh yeah!” I said, “She  _did_  mention that! She said there’s a statue of her and Twinkle Star around here somewhere! Do you think we can find it? She was so cute when she was younger!”  
  
“You can’t honestly expect me to believe you’re backed by the  _human Founder_?” Alexia asked, and she still seemed angry. “I wasn’t born yesterday.”  
  
I looked at her, smiling, “Me either! My birthday isn’t for a few months yet! So, if it’s not yesterday, when  _is_  your birthday?” Maybe she’ll cheer up if I get her a present? We  _are_  cousins, after all. She probably goes through a lot of manebrushes with her fluffy hair… I wonder if she likes bristle brushes, or the ones with the stiff fingers?  
  
I waited, but she didn’t answer, maybe because Amy started yelling?  
  
“ **You mean I had sex with the human Founder!?** ”  
  
Hehehe. Foals with Sally  **and**  Lyle. Amy’s so  _bad,_ but her foals will be so  _cute_.  
  
“Price?” Momma asked again, holding out her hand.  
  
“Ugh.” Alexia said, “If… if you  _really_  have founder’s rights, then… you get a discount. Call it… two handies, a BJ, and a four hour lay.”  
  
Momma handed over some of the paper ‘vouchers’ for a chain of restaurants that Sally had given to us. Something like... Ding-a-Ling's? But who  _was_  Ding-a-Ling? That was what  _I_  wanted to know. She must be pretty popular if everyone traded her vouchers for stuff... and some of the names of her foods were a little...  
  
“Dammit.” Alexia said, “That should have netted me four times that, easy. I could have had a full day affair, a candlelight romance, and maybe more. Fuck.”  
  
I felt a little bad for her. So lonely she buys food named after her dreams of a husband... I knew how it felt to want something like that, that badly, and still not have it.  
  
I put my hand on her shoulder. “Don’t worry, Alexia! You’ll find someone to hold you tight! I know it! Your cute, fluffy coat, your cool, fancy horns! You’re a real showmare! I feel so lucky to have such a pretty cousin!”  
  
She smiled at me, and it was warmer than any of her other smiles so far. Hopefully I cheered her up.  
  
“Thanks… Blackberry. I won’t give up.” She hit me in the arm, lightly, like Sally did with Lyle sometimes. “I thought you herdgirls were supposed to be stuffy prudes, but… I’d be happy to call you cousin.”  
  
I smiled back. “Thanks, Alexia, me too! Cousins!”  
  
She smiled wider.  
  


  


* * *

  
  
Lyle should be back soon. I… I was really nervous. He’d been… not avoiding me, but he’d spent more time with the other girls. I thought that maybe…  
  
But of course not. Lyle wouldn’t lie to me. Sally wouldn’t lie to me. Beeps and Amy either. They said they loved me, and I believed them.  
  
But maybe I was only so lovable? What if they loved me all they could, but it just still wasn’t very much? My old Momma had said something like that, that Bicorns weren’t ever really loved again, not after giving up the love of their herd for the life of a bad girl. And there was no going back, either.  
  
I was sitting in the main room, on a special couch like the one Momma had made me, but had to leave behind.  
  
“What if…” I said, before I could stop myself.  
  
“What if?” Amy asked.  
  
“What if he doesn’t come back for me?” I said. “He’s out with Sally, and she’s… she’s amazing. What if he forgets me?”  
  
“Blackberry…” she said, “don’t be silly. If Lyle can love me, he can love you easy, so of course he won’t forget you.”  
  
“He just… he doesn’t spend much time with me… you know?” I asked, eyes wet.  
  
“Oohh… Oh Blackberry, honey, it’s not like that.” She said, her hand rubbing my back.  
  
“Are you  _sure_?” I asked, “I’d understand. I would. I wouldn’t love him less if he wanted to spend more time with good girls like Sally and Beeps and you.”  
  
“Good… girls?” Amy asked, “What do you mean?”  
  
“Like, I’m a Bicorn because I was bad… but you’re good, and Momma is good, and Sally is the best… you can all give him foals, but I… I’m not allowed to spread my evil any further… and so I can’t be with him because I was bad…” I said. Hadn’t her Momma ever told her? Or was it different for Holstaurs?  
  
“Blackberry… I… I promised I wouldn’t talk to you about this without Lyle here… he, Sally, Beeps and I have been meaning to talk to you together…”  
  
Oh no.  
  
“But… In the meantime, so you know that I love you, and to help you get ready for your date… do you want to practice... kissing?”  
  
I blushed. Is that something best friends did? I... Maybe? Who else would you practice with?  
  
“…Okay.”


	9. 9

I was a little concerned about carrying an unconscious woman through the streets of a populated city, but I got several approving nods, knowing smiles, clapping spectators, and even a few propositions as I walked through town with Faust sleeping in my arms. I didn’t have to explain she’d passed out from the comfortable glow of sexual satisfaction, instead of something sinister, it was just what everyone assumed. Go figure.  
  
Magenta had given me a few new dreams to try tonight, and while those I’d had previously weren’t really to my tastes, if she was actually, honestly refining her choices… I shuddered lightly at the thought of dreams as intense as the ones I’d already experienced, but tailored to me so expertly I couldn’t separate myself from them to even try to resist them.  
  
I’d eaten the first three of her offerings without thought. It had been a while since I’d had any prisoner fruit, after all, and my stomach had been starting to complain. I’d  ~~reached out~~  and grabbed one or two along the walk back, careful not to dribble the juices on poor sleeping Sally. There was no telling if she’d had her first yet or not, and despite how wonderful they were, I wouldn’t take that choice from her. I’d just have to convince her to try some, if she hadn’t already. Amy’s argument had worked pretty well, when she used it on Blackberry and me. Maybe I’d reuse it? Eh, not worth worrying about. We had forever together to talk her through it.  
  
The taste was so sweet, so juicy, so delightful, and I shared a friendly glance with an Elf who was enjoying her own fruit as she passed by the other way. It felt so nice to be so accepted here. One of the worst things about cities in the pure world, whether the town I’d lived in, or even one of the larger cities I’d visited on occasion, was how  _suspicious_  everyone was, myself included, of everyone else, of every corner, every alley, every object, and especially every woman. You wouldn’t often see women out walking alone, not because it was dangerous for them, although they were targets for monsters as well, sometimes moreso; but because a lone woman looked like a potential threat. Even two women together was somewhat less threatening, because two monsters agreeing to hunt together and remaining friendly was much less common.  
  
Here, now? There was nothing to fear. I was already… corrupted? Maybe… there’s a better word? Anyway. Very nearly, but not quite, an Incubus, and very obviously happily married and part of the city, eating the food, engaging with the residents… I was an openly welcome part of a sense of community. Perverse though it was, this feeling of neighborly connection was more complete by far than that which my best efforts and that of the church had ever managed to foster in my hometown, and it bloomed here effortlessly. It was honest, genuine, and freely given.  
  
I’d started to be able to sense it in the others, the energy that burned in all of us, that connected us. It was an immediate commonality as I moved through the streets. Any one of these people would be willing to talk to me, to chat, and maybe even to blow off some steam, if I’d not had so many outlets for that already. I could feel the ones who were emptier, who hadn’t yet completely embraced what we had to offer as they moved through town, freshly fucked men and even women not yet transformed, and I ached to  ~~show them~~  in a way which might have frightened me, had I not lived through what I had, not known how right and natural it could be. How kind the process was, when guided by the right hands.  
  
Sure, there were monsters out there who, in their mad hunger, would do things to them that these people wouldn’t like, would rightfully hate, things they would fight to prevent, and I couldn’t begrudge them their resistance to that, but what about the Holstaur? The Cancer? The Unicorns? If you were able to look past those who would grab you and keep you, there were those who’d desperately love to throw themselves at you, wanted to show you what this city had to offer in a much more palatable way. Once you’d had the first taste of demonic energy, your journey had begun, there was no turning back, no escaping it, and you had choices to make. Choosing not to choose was what got so many people into trouble. Even for the more aggressive Mamono, I thought choice was important. Tease a starving man with food, and of course he’d attack you to eat, but feed him by choice, and maybe you’ll find a lifelong friend behind those desperate eyes.  
  
For all that the dream had made me uncomfortable, for all that it was staged, I thought the Manticore was the best evidence of that that I had. The emotions she’d had were genuine. Kevin could have made her into anything he’d wanted, if he’d taken initiative. Instead he dithered and delayed, and she made him into dinner. I couldn’t approve, wouldn’t approve… but again, choosing not to choose is also a choice. We’re all taught from early in life what kind of world we live in. Not thinking about what you’d do, how you’d handle it… failing to plan… I had trouble sympathizing, I guess. Beeps had made it easy for me, true, but with some training and work, often offered for free by cities, churches, and others, even a regular human could fight formidable Mamono toe-to-toe. Effort and drive was all you really needed to protect your-  
  
As I opened the front door, I nearly dropped Sally in surprise as I saw Blackberry pinning Amy to a wall, doing her best to shove her tongue down her throat.  
  
What.  
  
I watched as Amy rubbed herself against Blackberry’s larger frame, and I suddenly realized why it was she loved ‘hugs’ so much, as her flat, naked chest was thrust against Blackberry’s own, dribbling milk that came much easier to her now that we were wed. She had her left arm wrapped around Blackberry, pulling her close, and the other snaked into her slick panties, bringing herself more pleasure while trying and failing to keep things mostly innocent for my sweet lil Bicorn.  
  
Blackberry herself was shifting on her hooves, completely engrossed in what she was doing, and again, aggressively pinning Amy to the wall. Between the two of them, Blackberry  _was_  the more forceful, if only slightly, but it was still a sight to see. Her tail, soaked through with her juices, was whipping side to side, as her rear hips swayed, spreading the wet fluid and a delightfully enchanting scent throughout our living room. I’d never seen her so worked up. How long had this been going on?  
  
A chance flick of her tail sent a few droplets directly into my face, and the concentrated smell of it made me groan aloud.  
  
“UuuuughhhmmmmMm…”  
  
The noise shook the two of them from their reverie, Amy sinking to the floor, masturbating furiously, and Blackberry turning to me. The look in her eyes was wild. Animal. Oh no. Had we waited too long? Was this that moment I’d just been thinking about? Was I about to be Kevin? What about Blackberry? I didn’t want her to become something else due to my failures.  
  
“Hey sweetie,” I said, softly, “How are you doing?” She took a step toward me. “Are you ready for our date? Our picnic?” She stopped, blinking. “Aren’t you excited? Do you want to tell me what you made for me? I’m so eager to take you out on the town and show you off.”  
  
She was still having trouble, still sunken under her instincts. Amy, what did you  _do_? No, Lyle, this is your fault, don’t shift blame.  
  
I set Faust down, on a nearby chair. “My fated one, what troubles thee? Art thou not jubilant at the prospect of thine outing with thy beloved?”  
  
Clarity was coming back; she was looking around confused.  
  
“Dost thine heart not sing, as mine does? Are we not a chorus of intent? Canst thou not hear the chimes of wedding bells, the stirring chords of romance in the air?”  
  
She shivered. “L-Ly…le?”  
  
“It is the evening of thy dreams, my love, with thine desires set to be fulfilled. You need but come back to us, to embark with me upon this journey.”  
  
She fell to her knees. “Oh no… I’ve been so bad… Lyle, I don’t  _deserve_  it.”  
  
“My love,” I said, “that simply is untrue. Thou art my wife, and so by definition deserve my desires and attentions. Unless… you would renounce me?”  
  
She looked at me, horrified. “No! No, I… I love you! My… husband, whom I adore, I cannot…” She started crying.  
  
“Oh, Lyle, I can’t!” she sobbed. “I’m a bad, bad, bad girl.”  
  
“Then,” I said, floundering for something, “perhaps you need to be punished?”  
  
She looked up, tears still falling. “Punished?”  
  
Okay. That got a response. I am not prepared for this, but… I know who is.  
  
“Yes. If you really have been bad, Blackberry, and I don’t think you have, but if it’s true, then shouldn’t you tell your Momma? So she can steer you right?”  
  
Her eyes looked resolved. “R… right. Momma!?”  
  
Beeps strolled out of her closet, one panel missing.  
  
“Daughter?”  
  
“Momma… I’ve been… I’ve been bad.” She walked up to Beeps, and as she did, I shook Sally awake.  
  
“Mmm? Lyle? What?’  
  
“Ssshh,” I whispered, “It’s Blackberry, it’s time.”  
  
Her eyes widened, and she started struggling to pull herself out of her sleepy state.  
  
“I… I let myself become a monster, Momma. I’m a Bicorn. A bad girl.” She knelt, with Beeps impassively watching her. “I kissed Amy, and… I made her feel bad things for me, I felt bad things for her… I was supposed to just practice kissing for Lyle, but I couldn’t, Momma. It was too much!”  
  
Beeps patted her head.  
  
“Good.”  
  
Blackberry’s head snapped up, “No! No, I was bad, I was…”  
  
“Good.” Beeps insisted.  
  
“Momma!” She begged, “I’ve been bad, please!”  
  
“No.” Beeps said.  
  
Blackberry turned to me, desperate, “Lyle, Lyle! I’ve been bad, right? I’m a bad girl?”  
  
I put on a confused expression, despite my fear we were handling this wrong.  
  
“No? I don’t think so. I’m very happy with you, I’m proud to call you my wife. Amy, are you upset with Blackberry?”  
  
“Mmmmooooo… Nooo~” She said, dreamily, schlicking sounds still filling the room. “She’s  **great** ~”  
  
“Faust? Do you think she’s done something wrong?”  
  
Blackberry’s eyes widened, “I’m sorry, Sally! I tried to be a good girl like you, but…”  
  
“A review of your behavior would find you flawless, Blackberry. It is because of you we are all here together. Unless you regret that, there is nothing to be ashamed of.”  
  
“But… but… my Momma said…”  
  
“I heard what your Momma said, Blackberry,” I said, “She called you ‘good’. Beeps is your Momma, right? That’s what you said? And Sally? What about her? She’s your hero? She said you’re good. And Amy? Your best friend? She says you’re good.”  
  
She looked at me, pupils narrow, shaking, crying.  
  
“And me? I’m your husband. I say you’re good too. Doesn’t that matter?”  
  
“I… it does, but…”  
  
I strode forward, cupping her chin in my hand. “But what, honey?”  
  
I kissed her lips. “Doesn’t that feel good? Don’t you love me? I love  _you_. How can sharing that feeling between us ever be bad?”  
  
She wrapped her arms around me, still weeping.  
  
I kissed her again, running my fingers through her hair. “Your old family lied to you, sweetie. Repeatedly. You’re not bad, Blackberry, you’re the best. That’s the truth. Sex doesn’t always lead to foals, in fact, it’s  _rare,_ but even if it  **weren’t**? You  _can_  have foals. That’s the truth. If you want to, you  _should_.  **That’s the truth.**  And more? I think you know that. I think you can  _feel_  it. In here.” I touched her head. “In here.” Her heart, and also her breast, purely coincidentally, “and somewhere around…” I dragged my fingers across her dress, leading downwards.  
  
“Here.” She came into my hand, through the dress.  
  
“Good girl,” I kissed her again.  
  
She came again.  
  
“Good girl,” my hand groped at her, I was only barely restraining myself from ripping her clothes off, and taking her here and now.  
  
She came  _again_. Showing her the truth of this, teaching her,  **corrupting**  her... it was making me so  _horny_.  
  
“Good.”  
  
The lightest squeeze.  
  
“Girl.”  
  
The barest caress.  
  
“Blackberry.”  
  
Then we kissed again, her desire, dripping from her most sensitive places, staining her dress, and feeding into my clothes.  
  
I looked her in the eyes. “You need to get cleaned up, because we’re going on a cute, wonderful, romantic picnic date, and then I’m going to bring you home, cuddle up to you, tell you how much I love you, and then  _fuck you senseless_.”  
  
“…Okay, Lyle.”

 

 

* * *

 

 

 

While I waited for Blackberry to get cleaned up, I spoke with Faust briefly in her lab about something I’d been hoping she could make for the date.  
  
“Lyle, darling?” She looked at me, eyebrow arched. Uh oh.  
  
“Yes?” I asked, innocently. I didn’t yet know what had irked her, so I couldn’t feel properly guilty anyway.  
  
“Do you think me a simpleton?” Whoops. Maybe this was even easier than I thought it would be?  
  
“Uh, no?” Really only one right answer to  _that_  question.  
  
“Am I, perhaps, some low-grade hedge-witch, unable to cast such an utterly simple spell?” Oh boy.  
  
“No, of course not.” Really low-balling here, I must not have stepped too deeply into it.  
  
“Then please, my love, do not ask ‘if I can make’ something so trivial again, as though you are unsure of my skills.” And there it is.  
  
“Do… you want me to get it somewhere else? If it’s beneath you?” That’s inconvenient, but it’s worth it to avoid insulting her.  
  
“Pah. And risk an imbecile damaging either of you with their inferiority? Unlikely. I have finished your request as we spoke, so simple was it for me.” She floated a small, lightly glowing glass bauble over to me, and I picked it up, pocketing it.  
  
“Oh. Thanks, Sally.”  
  
“Not at all, to assist you in such a manner is a joy. Yet…” Hmm?  
  
“Yet?”  
  
“Take… take care in how you use it. I do not know what you intend, but incorrectly managed, it could be... quite hurtful.”  
  
Oh, yeah. That’s a good thought.  
  
“Thanks, Sally, but I think she’s gonna love this. It wears off?” I mean, I assume it does, but…  
  
“Once she wills it to, yes, or after a day of use.”  
  
“Thanks again.”  
  
She smiled at me. “Thank  _you_ , Lyle, for coming to me with your desires, seeking fulfillment. It brings me satisfaction. …And no small amount of amusement, that you are so easily impressed. It  _truly is_  but a trifle.”  
  
Heh. I gave her a hug, and a kiss on her forehead, before walking out of her lab, and waiting in the main room.  
  
A few minutes later, after Blackberry had finished washing away the alluring, undeniable smell of sex from her body, heading into her room, and a short time after I saw Amy sheepishly sneak into the bathhouse to do the same herself, probably smart of her to have waited, even thought there  _was_  plenty of room, I saw Blackberry come striding out of her room, having put herself completely back together.  
  
I found myself wishing I could have read some of the stories she grew up on, so I knew what to expect, what role to play for her, and where some of her worldview came from. I’d just have to wing it.  
  
It’d worked out alright so far.  
  
I stood up, looking down at her hooves. This was an easy start. Her shoes were ornate enough I’d have likely noticed them even without specifically hearing how important the process of picking them out was to her.  
  
“Wow, Blackberry. Those are some pretty shoes!” I said, and the enthusiasm for them wasn’t entirely false. I’d… noticed some attraction starting to seep in, even to the… less traditional parts of her. I’d looked nervously as I strode through town earlier, but regular horses, thankfully, did nothing for me, unless it was actually another centaur, obscured in the crowd. Somehow I could tell, even without a clear view. I’d tried it a number of ways, just to be sure, and I’d always been right. It was weird.  
  
She spun around, showing them off, and, with her ample backside facing me, lifted a hoof so that I could inspect them further. She pulled her hoof away when I touched at the interior of her hoof, inside the shoe, giggling as she did.  
  
“Do you like them? Alexia says I can ‘gallop on the stars’ but I haven’t tried it yet. I’m a little nervous.” She frowned, slightly.  
  
Shoes that let her… what, walk on the air, maybe?  
  
“Who’s Alexia?” I asked, although it was probably a friend she’d made. When we walked through town, she chatted with the locals as we moved through the streets, and  _some_  of the shopkeepers, at least, were starting to remember her name. She always remembered theirs.  
  
“Oh, she’s my cousin from the north! She’s a ‘White Horn’, which means she has huge, branching horns, and a body like mine, but cute and fluffy!”  
  
...Fluffy, you say? Wait, no… Stop that.  
  
“Hey, you might not be fluffy, my love, but you  _are_  cute.”  
  
She blushed. “A-Anyway… She sold us the shoes, and she said they were ancient secrets!”  
  
I wonder if that was  _true,_  that they were ancient flight magic, or if it was just something she’d been told? Beeps wouldn’t have let her be cheated price-wise, of course, she was an actual monster at haggling, but I’d hate to see Blackberry disappointed.  
  
“Let’s start with something a little closer to the ground, okay?” I smiled at her. “If you really need the stars for it to work, I’m sure Faust can make something happen.”  
  
“That’s a great idea!” She said, and her smile brightened. “Sally will make it work for sure!”  
  
Probably even if it never worked in the first place, honestly. She wouldn’t let reality insult her that way. I should probably get used to the idea of flying horse-feet.  
  
…We might need a higher ceiling.  
  
I got her saddle all tightened up, and hitched the basket to it, back behind where I’d be sitting.  
  
“So… what are we going to be eating?” I asked, as I led her by the hand out the front door.  
  
“It’s a surprise!” She looked so happy with that that I didn’t argue, instead smiling myself.  
  
“I can’t wait. I hear you taught Sally everything she knows?”  
  
“It wasn’t hard,” she confided, after nodding, “she’s really smart.”  
  
I climbed up into the saddle, and the process released some happy noises from Blackberry.  
  
“Uh? Is that okay?” she asked, “Are… can I make those sounds? It’s really hard not to…”  
  
I patted her on the shoulder. “If I’m making you happy, sweetie, of course I want to know about it.”  
  
At that news, she trotted in place, cheerily, before moving apace toward the park ring.  
  
We chatted for a while as we approached, her pointing out new faces to me to try and remember, though I doubted I’d succeed, and talking about the places that they’d visited on their shopping trip. As we closed in, though, I interrupted her.  
  
“-and the place was so tall! Sometimes, I had to wait outside, because they had these little narrow walkways that led up and up, with the ground getting higher and higher! Like a tiny magical mountain you can put anywhere you want!” The fantastical land of the stairwell was truly arcane and mysterious.  
  
…I guess to her, maybe it was?  
  
“Blackberry, honey?”  
  
“Yes, Lyle!?” So excited to be here, it was adorable. I pointed past her head, into her view.  
  
“Do you see that tree over there? The huge one?” She nodded, “That looks like a nice shady spot, don’t you think? Let’s head there.”  
  
“That’s a really good spot, Lyle. Have you had a lot of picnics under trees like that?”  
  
“Not too many.” Most of the trees that big meant Dryad, so getting close was a fool’s game. Beeps was more likely to feed me at home, anyway, and Sally always barged into the house to give me whatever she’d prepared, which was never unwelcome, because it only ever happened if I’d not had to barge into her place first, to help her ‘unprepare’ it.  
  
I shuddered. Now that she could command magic… It wasn’t going to be limited to ‘cross-bred’ bugs and fire leaping out of the sink out of control. ‘Self-heating pot’ my ass. I had no idea what was in store.  
  
…But. The reassurance that we’d never be old, rotten Jan and crotchety, creaky Fredrick, never wind up rocking back and forth on our porch in our chairs all day, whittling away at logs and ignoring each other, bored out of our minds with even those we loved most, cranky and waiting to die… With Faust, with Sally, wherever we wound up, it would undeniably be  _exciting_.  
  
That was all I really needed.  
  
We came to a rest under the tree, and I rolled the bauble around in my hands, considering.  
  
Yep, no matter what else happened, things would at least be interesting.

 

 

* * *

 

 

 

One thing that was interesting to me about Blackberry’s picnic choices was the blanket was much smaller than I expected. I suppose several unicorns couldn’t be expected to kneel on one blanket, so it made sense that it was only really meant to keep the food off the ground. Given how much of her food was normally already on the ground, I was actually probably lucky to get that much.  
  
“So…?” She wiggled, kneeling near the blanket, “what do you think?”  
  
The sandwiches she’d brought were essentially salad on bread, not bad, but not amazing either. Of course, when the secret ingredient is  _love…_  
  
“They’re wonderful, Blackberry. I really appreciate it.”  
  
She beamed at me, around a mouthful of flowers, the bright yellow dandelions making her grin almost as luminous as the ones Beeps had shown under the influence of electricity. Keeping in mind that she had literal lights in her mouth, that was impressive.  
  
I leaned back against the tree. If there was a Dryad in it, she didn’t seem to be home, or she was ignoring me. There’s only so many times I could knock on tree bark saying; ‘Hello, anyone home? Mind if we eat here?’ before things got too silly, even for me. It might have been a bit like sneaking into an unlocked house when the neighbor happened to be out, but… at the end of the day, it was a  _tree_. I was only so willing to be accommodating to foliage.  
  
“This tree…” I said, casually, “it’s pretty tall, don’t you think?”  
  
She looked up, a wistful expression crossing her face as she gazed on the branches. “Yeah, it is. I bet the view up there is really pretty.”  
  
“Wanna find out for yourself?” I tossed Faust’s glass bauble in my hand.  
  
Her eyes followed it. “Lyle, what  _is_  that? Is it some kind of… tree climbing thing?”  
  
“In a way.” I answered, “There’s supposedly a spell that any Mamono can cast, to be human-shaped for a short time, do you know it?”  
  
“Uh… no, sorry. I know which one you mean, but…” She shifted on her knees. “We… weren’t supposed to learn those kinds of things.”  
  
“I thought so, that’s fine.” I smiled at her, “Faust does know it, though, and that’s what this is. I asked her for her help making this so you could use the spell once anyway.”  
  
“You… want me to look human?” She looked confused, and a little worried. “Am I… not-”  
  
“It’s nothing like that,” I cut in, glad Faust had mentioned she might take it badly, “It’s just, I don’t know how to climb trees as a Unicorn…” although that’s as much because it’s impossible as anything else, “But…”  
  
She finally caught on, jumping to her hooves and trotting in place. “But you do know how as a human! Oh Lyle, Lyle! Will you show me!?”  
  
I laughed, “Of course I will.”  
  
She hugged me up, off the ground, swinging me lightly back and forth, I pulled my feet in to narrowly dodge the tree. The first step to climbing trees is ‘don’t break your legs’. It’s also good advice in general, come to think of it. Once she set me down, and I found I couldn’t be annoyed by the lengthy wait for her to be ready for that, but once she did, I offered her the spellglass.  
  
“She said all you have to do is want to be your natural, beautiful self to turn back to normal, so try to think human thoughts while we’re climbing, okay?” I passed it into her waiting hand.  
  
She nodded, resolutely. “Right. I’m ready!”  
  
We waited.  
  
“Um, how does it work?”  
  
“You know,” I said, embarrassed, “I actually forgot to ask? Maybe try… thinking really hard about human legs? You can look at mine, if that helps.” Although, if you wind up with my legs on your body… That’s gonna be a weird look.  
  
She screwed her face up, putting on an intense, exaggerated impression of Sally’s ‘thinking face’, but where Sally tended to look exasperated at the world for not yet having bowed to her will, Blackberry looked… like she thought I couldn’t see her if she closed her eyes tightly enough. Also, her tongue was sticking out the corner of her mouth, just slightly.  
  
As silly as it looked, though, it seemed to be working. The equine segments of her body, including her large lower torso, but also her ears and horns, began glowing lightly purple, as the glass ball did the same. They just sort of… faded away, and she was standing there with human legs. The process was quick, and painless.  
  
“I think it worked!” She said, before trying to spin and look at herself. She failed, and I caught her before she could hit the ground.  
  
“Oh. Whoops. Hi, Lyle.” She looked up at me, her back to my chest, cradled in my arms.  
  
“Hey sweetie.” I kissed her forehead, before helping her stand again. Her feet wobbled, but so long as she was braced against me, she stayed upright.  
  
We staggered around the clearing for a bit, slowly, getting her used to the idea. She was still much taller than me, but without the added height of an extra torso, she was probably shorter than Amy, now. Eventually I got the sense that she was only still fumbling so she could keep holding on to me, and cute as that was, we could cuddle any time.  
  
“Are you ready?”  
  
“…You’ll be right there to catch me?”  
  
“Of course. But you can do this. And once you do, I’ll climb up with you. The village kids had a song about two people sitting in a tree…”  
  
Her face colored. “Sally sang me that one once… It’s part of why I always wanted to climb one. I thought… it might help; you know?”  
  
I nodded, encouragingly.  
  
“If…” she closed her eyes, taking a deep breath, “if we do have… foals… if we… I can’t…”  
  
“Shh… shh… It’s okay, you can, I promise.” She looked up at me, eyes wet, but smiling bright.  
  
“You do? Okay… So, if we do… that. Um, can you please not make them pull their own carriages until their legs are strong?”  
  
“What?”  
  
“The… baby and the baby carriage? I just… a unicorn’s hooves and legs are soft, when they’re just born, and…”  
  
I laughed, “I promise, the only person pulling my carriage will be you, sweetheart.”  
  
She hugged me, then pulled me into a kiss so sweet and tender, I  _almost_  avoided becoming aroused. Sadly, it was then that I noticed she wasn’t wearing pants, and her dress hadn’t been designed to cover a human butt, since she hadn’t had one. I wasn’t able to resist just a single squeeze.  
  
“Oh!” she said, surprised. “That was nice! So that’s what that’s for!? I wasn't sure...”  
  
Well, butts aren’t only for… wait a minute? Do Mamono not…? I mean, they only really eat energy… Our house doesn’t even have toilets, actually… Come to think of it, have I…? Not since… wow.  _That’s_ weird. I guess… my butt  _is_  just a sex thing, now. That… is that  **more**  or  _less_  embarrassing? I can’t decide. Aren’t some people… into that, though? Maybe there’s like an optional… spell or something? Some kind of 'fake digestive tract' spell? I think I’ll pass on asking Sally that one.

 

 

* * *

 

 

“That’s right, you’ve got the grip, now push off gently with your foot. You’re plenty strong sweetie, lift with your arms, I promise I’ll catch you.” Over the course of fifteen minutes, Blackberry had failed to climb this tree in every conceivable way, but I was fairly sure she had it this time, even if only by process of elimination. She’d made a little progress with every attempt, once the most embarrassing ones were out of the way, anyway, and now the branch she’d been eyeing was within her reach.  
  
If the last few minutes had proved she was no athlete, at least in human form, they’d also proved she didn’t know the meaning of the word ‘quit.’ Possibly literally. I’d given up on hunting food for the day with only a fraction of the effort and failures she’d expended. Of course, Beeps was there to pick up my slack, as always, but something about catching it myself made the deer, the rabbit, the whatever-I-caught, taste  _better_. If I ever endured this kind of hardship for something so mundane as a tree, I’d have had Sally blow it up.  
  
In fact, there was still, years later, a burned spot where a bramble bush had been on the way to the market from my house. I hadn’t asked her, specifically, just complained about it one day, and it was gone the next morning. Strangely, the morning  _after that_ , all the brambles around town had been mysteriously uprooted, including those in the garden of a spiteful old hag, who’d bade me investigate which entitled child had done something so ‘heinous’. I shuddered at the thought of a child so dedicated to trespassing on her hideous property that they’d do all that work in one night, and I never did find one that had, which didn’t shock me, though with what I know now, I wonder if that was actually  _Beeps_?  
  
Either way, while I might have been tempted to give in, Blackberry persevered. Every attempt began with a ‘this time for sure’ level of enthusiasm, even as she failed dozens of times.  
  
Her hand grasped the large branch, the one she was aiming for, with an elated “yes!”. Some of her clothing had slipped off in the change, and I got quite the show as she shimmied her half-naked torso, shaking it delightfully as she angled to climb the last inches. It was even the particularly interesting kind of half-naked, though I was increasingly a fan of either. Or both.  _Especially_  both.  
  
The set of cheeks and lips not generally on public display spread wide as she hoisted one leg up over the branch. It was really no wonder I’d been able to stay so focused, despite the time it had taken. I never let my attentions wander from her frankly enormous hips, and I’d maintain that my focus was to ensure I caught her when she fell, if anyone asked. I certainly never missed.  
  
Not that anyone  _had_ asked. I’d gotten a few pats on the back, and a few who stayed to watch for a bit, but that was  _my_  wife up there, and everyone could tell she wasn’t available.  
  
As she settled in, with a huge smile on her face, I knew this was the right call.  
  
“Lyle, look! I did it!” She was entirely aware I’d been watching the whole time, of course, but there’s something to be said for sharing the joy of your accomplishments.  
  
“I knew you could, Blackberry. I never doubted.” There was, admittedly, a point around the ten-minute mark where I was tempted, however.  
  
“I climbed a tree!” She threw her hands up in the air, and then had to scramble for grip as she went off-balance. “Wait! No!” She didn’t fall, though, successfully stabilizing herself.  
  
We smiled at each other, acknowledging her victory over gravity, and I carefully climbed up after her, taking my time so as not to make it look too easy. I’d never had difficulty with this kind of thing even before I could wrap myself around the tree and simply slither up. She kicked her feet back and forth as she waited for me, sitting several feet up in the air, more than ten, easily.  
  
When I got up to her, being the lighter of the two of us, I climbed out further on to the branch than she had, settling down. I put one of my hands in her lap, dangerously close to sliding between her legs, and brushing against her... *ahem*. Even knowing that her first time could not be while she looked like this, if I wanted to be  _sure_  she’d believe I thought she was beautiful in her natural form, I couldn’t help my placement.  
  
I looked out on the city, essentially the skyline, as far as we were concerned. It was easy to forget there was a whole world out there. I could probably spend the rest of my natural life exploring this city and not see everything worth seeing, meet everyone worth meeting, and that was just this town. For all that I was exiled from the pure lands by my actions, from where I was sitting, it was the old me who’d been trapped.  
  
“Ah…” Oh? I looked over, and my hand had been questing toward Blackberry’s inner thigh without my notice. It was just what came naturally. Apparently, distracting myself to keep things chaste wouldn’t work anymore. If I wanted to avoid things like this, doing so would have to be my focus. If. If I wanted to avoid them.  
  
Her face was flushed, her eyes wide, as she gazed at me longingly, moving in for a kiss, slowly, carefully, like a feral pet, finally learning to trust.  
  
“Remember, sweetie,” I said, and she paused, “we’re not having sex till we get home, okay? I want you and I to share that the way you  _really_  are, not hidden away like this.”  
  
She gulped, but nodded, unsteadily. Aww, she’s all flustered. I’ll have to enjoy that while it lasts.  
  
I let her bring our lips together, winding bits of myself around the tree branch to lock us in place. Her early days with me had been excessively timid, so while this was by no means the most passionate kiss I’d had, it was certainly a surprise from her. She leaned in, her lips moving like she was biting at mine, her tongue searching for my own. I let her find it. I pulled her in closer, started rubbing my hands on her breasts, across her back, down again to her ass, and even her inner thigh, but just barely, quite purposefully, staying away from the place I wanted most.  
  
“Ahhh… Lyle? It feels so  _goood_?” She whined breathily, confused and conflicted, as she whispered to me in a brief moment apart to breathe. “I… knew it would but… Can…? Can you touch me like that again? Please?”  
  
I smiled. “Of course, Blackberry. Whatever you like.” I yearned to grind myself against her, maybe to slip inside by accident, but I knew better. There would be time for that later, her first time would be perfect, I wouldn’t allow it to be sullied with self-doubt.  
  
Instead, I slipped my hand inside her  _dress_ , touching her breast directly, in a way I’d yet to savor. Enormous in every sense of the word, Blackberry’s tits naturally did not disappoint, neither me, nor her. Her nipples hard, I dragged my fingers lightly across them, and she lost her mind to the pleasure of it, making babbling noises, drool starting to slide down her chin before I kissed it away. Whether she martialed herself, or whether by instinct, she immediately returned the kiss, deepening it further than we’d yet gone, and  _her_  hand snaked toward  _my_ crotch.  
  
I was so surprised, I failed to stop her wrapping her hand around my length, and once she did, my restraint went out the window. I knew I had to resist traditional sex, but if she wanted me  _this_  badly, fuck it, I was hers. I rocked my hips into her hand, staying just  ~~slick~~ enough for a smooth sensation, as she ran her grip up and down my dick, inexpertly jerking me off. Not that I minded her clumsy attempts, it was Blackberry, it was my wife, it was  _perfect_.  
  
I came quickly, as usual, and kept cumming, but she hadn’t been ready for it, and it flew through the air. Her eyes tracked it, her whole body suddenly focused, and I got the insane notion she was preparing to leap out of the tree after it, so I  ~~caught~~ it, pooling the salty,  ~~surprisingly not~~  disgusting liquid for her, and she took it from me eagerly, cupping it in her hands and drinking.  
  
“Holy… moly… Mmmmm…” She shivered, eyes sweeping across me, hungrily, “More, Lyle, please… Husband...  **More**.”  
  
And so there was more. As she fed, I noticed a subtle weariness leaving her, something that had crept into her so slowly I’d not even seen it happening.  _My wife was starving_. I needed to feed her! My eyes locked onto her crotch, and-  
  
I  _do_  need to feed her, but  **not**  that way.  
  
My body rebelled, but I held firm. I was going to do this right. I came again, and I fed her by hand, her moans and eventually, her screams, tempting me into what was natural, but I withheld.  
  
“Blackberry,” I breathed, “Would you like to go home? Now? Please?”  
  
“Heck. Yes.”

 

 

* * *

 

 

I’d managed to convince her not to change back to her true form until we got to the house, at least. I wasn’t quite ready to fuck someone in the middle of a busy street, even though that was largely accepted and even encouraged. At the very least my first time with Blackberry should be something private and intimate, and if she’d turned back to her natural form, the only roadblock restraining me would be gone. I wasn’t convinced I’d have made it back to the house before I fell upon her, especially since she’d undoubtedly have wanted me to ride her.  
  
Ride her…  
  
I smiled. No sense trying to restrain those thoughts now. Any moment she’d be walking through that door, we’d crawl into bed together, and I’d finally have her. I shivered in anticipation. Leaving one of my wives so tragically un-fucked was such a hardship, I was glad it was coming to an end. Maybe I should hunt down Akubra, see about filling her up too? She was interested, and there was room for one more. I bet she’s an absolute freak under the covers, too…  
  
Ah, but that’s not who tonight’s about. Where was she anyway? Was she getting cold feet? Er… hooves?  
  
Just as I thought to go check on her, and maybe just take her where I found her, Lord, this anticipation was killing me, she opened the door. My somewhat soft erection, by this point a constant reassuring presence, instantly hardened to the limit. I hadn’t expected she’d come naked. That was smart.  
  
“Haaaaaah…” I breathed, eloquently. My eyes took her in, greedily, imprinting the sight on my brain as she walked towards me, door swinging shut behind her. I’d had all these ideas about slow lead up, getting her comfortable, everything I thought I’d have to do to talk her out of those clothes…  
  
But she was so brave.  
  
Her hair had been let out of its braid, by far the longest of us, it draped down her shoulders and covered her breasts. I growled. Unacceptable. Her pale white skin was flushed pink, sweating already, and a brief glance at her eyes showed her as entranced by my cock as I was by her pussy. And Chief God, what a prize that was. Engorged and reddened with need, its folds proudly displayed, and leading a trail of slick wetness down her body. The smell was, in a way, like a forest after a thunderstorm, overwhelming and undeniably magnificent, yet completely natural as well.  
  
As the distance closed, we reached for each other, two destined lovers finally getting their magic moment, and as our fingers touched she started to laugh. Giddy and joyful, disbelieving, it was impossible not to join in. It was finally happening. I fell into her arms, and she lifted me up into a hug, holding me close, pressing her breasts against me in a manner that delighted me. I rubbed my own chest against hers, stimulating every part of her I could reach with fluid waves of motion, and then, almost by chance, our hips aligned.  
  
I lost control of myself as my body refused to risk my refusal again, and it seemed she was the same, as I felt the look of surprise on my own face mirror her own for a brief moment before we got lost in each other. She fell to her knees, then onto her side, and we fucked on the floor like animals.  
  
I couldn’t form words, I’d been so pent up, like there was an entire part of myself I’d been saving only for her, and the pressure had been growing and growing, only now finding release. Instead, I made do with somewhat high-pitched happy noises, punctuated, of course, with the thrusts of my hips, burying myself as deeply as my body allowed, wet thumps and even higher-pitched cries echoing as a result of my efforts. I kissed at her, tasting her skin, her sweet lips, our breath intermingling, as I held her close to me. Our eyes met, each of us finally gaining some semblance of control.  
  
And then I came.  
  
We lost that control again, and deliciously so. She pulled me as close as she could manage, desperately humping at me, my own actions no more restrained, as I clawed at her back, yanking her close, burying myself repeatedly, quickly, to the hilt, futilely trying to satisfy some bizarre, insane desire to  ~~be a part of my beloved~~. She kissed back at me, tasting my cheeks, my forehead, my tongue, finding it all to her liking. I lived to satisfy her cravings, it was amazing. As her sounds of desperate need eased to fulfilled moans, then finally contended sighs, I found myself still  _needing_. There was more of her yet to fill.  
  
I led her by the hand up to my bed, positioning her so that she faced the head of it, with her ass just off the end of the bed. And what an ass it was. Huge, biggest by far, she was fucking unmatched amongst my wives when it came to size. In every category, she took first place. A prize mare. I touched her there.  
  
“Oh.” She said, surprised. “I’m not done. Wow. I thought… But Lyle, both?”  
  
Both.  
  
I rose, my legs  ~~extending~~  to reach the height required to do this properly. I sunk inside, but I was neither large enough, nor long enough to satisfy her here.  ~~So I fixed that~~.  
  
Immediately, the change in her was apparent.  
  
“Yes!” she cried, throwing her human half down to the bed as I fucked her, roughly, “Yes, yes! Lord yes!”  
  
I leaned my body over hers, trying to wrap my arms around her large torso, just trying to hold her properly. I kept fucking, my moans and grunts getting deeper, more guttural. Cum rushed out of me, and I couldn’t have been happier for the feeling. Ugh, putting it where it belonged.  
  
“Aahhh! Oooh! Lyle, Lyle please! A foal, a foal, please! I’ve been good, you said so, I deserve it, please,  _please_!”  
  
I did my best, growing longer and longer, filling as much of her as I could.  _Filling_  her as much as I could. I never lost rhythm, our hearts joined and keeping time as we pursued her goal together. After I felt there was nothing more that could be done there, stuffing her so full there was no longer any room to fuck her further, I moved back around to the front, crawling my way underneath her as her upper body hung loosely unto my bed, and then we smiled, we cuddled, we held each other close.  
  
And just when she thought her first time was over, I fucked her again.  
  
“Lyle, Lyle, Lyle!” She cried, “You’re the best husband ever! I love you so much! Aaah~”  
  
“I love you too, Blackberry.” Then the moment I was waiting for, searching for, finally arrived.  
  
Blackberry came.  
  
I was drenched in her juices, like a fucking eruption. Fitting, since her erotic convulsions were like being trapped in an avalanche of boobs and hair, so great was the difference in our size. Of course, in order to be trapped, there sort of has to be somewhere you’d rather be. For me, right now?  
  
There wasn’t.  
  
I let her soak my body with her love, her fluids coating me as she came and came, unable to stop.  
  
“AaaH! What!? What’s… what’s happening to meeEEeeEEEE!?”  
  
“You’re being rewarded,” I whispered, “because you’re such a good girl, Blackberry. You must be. Bad girls can’t possibly be rewarded like this, can they?”  
  
“N… No! They… c-c-can’t!” She choked out, around the screams.  
  
“So say it,” I said, “tell the world what kind of girl you are.”  
  
“I’m a good girl! I’m a dirty girl! I’m Lyle’s girl!” Each louder than the last, each more confident.  
  
This wouldn’t be enough to overcome a lifetime of lies, but it sure as fuck was a good start. And when she backslid? I’d remind her how we’d climbed that tree together, something she thought she’d never be able to do, something that, together, was no longer impossible, no matter the odds, no matter what stood in the way.  
  
And then I’d fuck her again.  
  
Just to be safe.

 

 

 

* * *

**\- Dream Four -**  
**What a Catch!**

* * *

 

 

  
  
  
My husband was back, as he often was, with more of his poorly forged steel bands of binding. Any girl would be happy to receive such a promise of fidelity, much less a shy Bunyip like me, who rarely even peeked up above the waves. There were so many men in this harbor! What if they looked at me? What would I say? Still, although I was very happy to be on the receiving end of such dogged pursuit… The bands were  _very_  poorly forged, their circular shape only half formed, with a jagged point where they’d shattered. And… why were they adorned in… worms? Wasn’t a pretty stone more traditional?  
  
That’s not to say I didn’t love him! Of course I did! …My efforts to understand him weren’t going well, that was all. Every day he sent his proposal down to me, every day I stared paralyzed, unsure of what to offer in return. And then, like always, a fish would swallow my ring, and he would pull it up, no doubt perpetually disappointed that it was not my face that greeted him, but a mere flounder. After a long day of professing his desire for me, he would return home, certainly disappointed I had evaded him yet again. Eventually, he even began to lower down a sort of wide, knotted rope-ladder, so that I could climb up to him, but those damn fish always clogged the thing up, and they went ashore with him every night instead of me, his beloved.  
  
Did he take those fish into his home? …Into his bed? What was my timidity costing me? Such a clear invitation, refused time and again without fail. He must think I hated him, and yet every day he returned. Did he really find me so enchanting?  
  
Despite the cold of the water, I blushed hotly at the thought. His desire for me, swelling, growing sweeter by the day, so potent at times I thought I could smell him even through the waves. Alone on the boat, he would even send down the products of his love, on rare occasion, and I treasured the offerings, coming as they did from the depths of my husband. Though spirit energy was not required for my survival, I appreciated the chance to get to know the taste of him, to, in my loneliest moments, attempt to impregnate myself with his offspring, though sadly I never succeeded.  
  
I thought I had it now, though. A gift in return to show what he meant to me, one equal to the persistence with which he pursued me. I had heard him often grumble to me about how the rain soaked his clothes clean through, and though I was out of sight he always knew when I appeared, for he spoke loudly, and with such… passion. But my fur did not retain water, and so, after spending many a week more naked that usual, I had finally gathered enough of my fluffy, well-kept fur that I could make him a fur coat of his own. To embrace him forever, even in the moments we must part. It was difficult to find something with which to fasten it closed. Rocks were in ready supply, and I had fashioned myself an… imagining of my husband’s concealed greatness, to use when I tried to bear him children, but although the rock was satisfying, its color did not go well with my coat.  
  
I’d finally stumbled upon the idea of using those round stones sometimes found in oysters, since I had many left over from my meals. A few hundred shattered before I got the knack of piecing them, but I had no fears of running out, so it was hardly much of a waste. The resulting buttons went quite well with my fluffy white fur, and after a few missteps, I had my gift completed.  
  
I screwed my eyes shut, grabbed hold of his ring, careful not to poke my finger as I bent it into shape around me, and flung myself into the rope ladder, which tangled me in its folds, yet more evidence of my husband’s poor crafting skill. But that didn’t matter, I felt myself rising up, into the shallows, into the dry lands! My husband called for me!  
  
Seaweed and fish covered me, concealing my love from my view, though I yearned to gaze upon him. I was raised into his small craft, my length by itself covering more than half, were I to lay uncoiled. Though… the size of his vessel mattered not to me, merely the size of his heart, the size of his… desire for me. There was plenty enough space here to coil around him once I was freed.  
  
His rough hands tugged at the ladder, loosening his prize from its clutches, and I flopped about wetly, doing my best to present myself enticingly, but I could not swim through the air, so I fear I was less graceful than I might have otherwise been. He certainly didn’t look impressed.  
  
“What the shit?”  
  
I nearly choked on my words, but I got them out. “Husband! I have tasted your desire for me! No more will you have to come to this place, day after day, to tempt me! I have made you a gift equal to your efforts! Behold!”  
  
I threw the coat to him, and he failed to catch it, no doubt dazzled by its beauty and frozen in place, and it wrapped around his head. I panicked.  
  
“No! Oh no, oh no!” I pulled it off him, carefully, but he wasn’t responding right! He seemed afraid and confused! “Husband, husband, it’s me! Your love!”  
  
Still he thrashed, and I wondered, horrified, if he was drowning. Humans couldn’t breathe very much water, and the coat had been quite wet, and shed water quickly. I knew what to do, though, I’d seen it done ashore.  
  
The kiss of life.  
  
I pressed my lips to his, and sure enough, it wasn’t long before his struggles ceased. I wasn’t sure how kissing humans helped them breathe water better, but it seemed to work.  
  
His breathing was heavy as he looked up at me, eyes shining with his signature fervent devotion, finally back in his right mind. I lifted him up, cooing at him as I coiled myself, preparing to constrict around him like I’d always dreamed.  
  
“What is your name, husband?” I asked, as he relaxed into the center of my twisting body, his hands slowly, dreamily sliding up, towards my exposed chest.  
  
“E… Everret…” He murmured.  
  
“Everret, mmm… I like that name.” We smiled at each other, and I let out a small gasp as his fingers began lightly brushing against my breasts.  
  
“I,” I said, “am Gawtammit.” He knew this already, of course. Had known it for as long as I could remember. It was how I knew we were meant to be. After all, he  _always_  started his complaints by addressing me quite loudly. His accent was quite charming.  
  
My body twisted, writhing against him and binding him, a sort of acknowledgement, a prologue, a foreshadowing of when I would take him inside me in a similar but different way.  
  
But I was not keen to wait for my payoff. I flexed the muscles in my body, slowly sliding Everret up through my coils until our torsos aligned. I gently removed his clothing, his own fumbling hands trying to assist, but his heavy breathing and flushed face revealed the reason behind his clumsiness. That he refused to look away from me was flattering, but not really conducive to his helping removing his clothing. I didn’t mind. I placed his coat upon his shoulders, aside from his wrapping at his waist, it was now the only thing he wore. His erection strained at the limits of the fabric, and I was pleased to see that I’d underestimated him. Mere stone was a pale echo to his true endowment. He pressed into me as soon as he was able, and we bathed in that pleasure for a time, before I took us overboard. Everret’s trust in me was so great that he did not struggle, though he could not have known that my friend, a Sea Bishop, was waiting beneath the waves. She knew today was the day, and she would finish the ceremony. My husband and I could finally be together.

 

 

* * *

**\- Dream Five -**  
**In-desk-cribable Pleasure**

* * *

 

 

The soapy cloth tumbled for a third time directly into my Master’s crotch. His pants were, by this point, soaked through, so I was able to fondle him through them as I retrieved it.  
  
“Ooops. Sorry, Master. This cloth is  **so**  slippery, and you know how clumsy I can be!” I put on my best innocent face. The sounds of the guests at my Master’s party raged outside the closed door of his spacious office. All those fancy people, but my Master was in here with me~  
  


_Wait? What’s happening? Everything’s stopped? Master? Master!? I reached out to my Master’s face and-_

_~~But that’s wrong. My Master doesn’t look like that. He looks like THIS.~~ _

_A wave of tentacles and eyes swept across my Master’s face, and suddenly he looked strangely familiar. I thought that was an odd thought. Of course he looked familiar, he was my Master. The tentacles receded and-_  


“Ooops. Sorry, Master. This cloth is  **so**  slippery, and you know how clumsy I can be!” I put on my best innocent face. The sounds of the guests at my Master’s party raged outside the closed door of his spacious office. All those fancy people, but my Master was in here with me~  
  
“Yes. Of course. You’re  _soooo_  clumsy.” His calm, controlled expression showed no signs of anything but acceptance.  
  
Tehehehe. He bought it. Another flawless deception! Soon I would move beyond the ‘headpats and cuddles’ stage and into ‘stress-relief exercises’! He’ll never suspect until I’m already with child! And of course, his own child by the wicked woman, the adorable young Master… would need someone to play with. Someone to grow up with… As my Master’s faithful servant, of course I must provide. And then, once they were old enough… Tehehehe.  
  
“Ooops.” I said, ‘dropping’ the cloth again. “I’m so sorry, Master. Really.”  
  
He sighed, but made no move to stop me retrieving the cloth. I thought I felt his erection grow just a  _bit_  more at my touch. Excellent! A maid must be pleasing to her Master in every way! I felt my tail start to wag, and I clamped down on the feeling. Can’t give it away! Then I got a devilish idea. My hands let go of the cloth, half raised.  
  
“Oh no,” I said, “I’m  _falling_!” I laid gently down into my Master’s lap, rubbing my cheek against his soaked pants as I stood back up, grabbing at the cloth with my lips.  
  
“Are you sure that was a fall?” Uh oh! He’s getting suspicious! Quick! Think of something!  
  
I rose to my feet, the scales covering them tapping against the tile floor as I did. I dropped the cloth from my mouth into my hands. I was grateful for the recipe my mother had passed down to me. ‘Bedroom bubbles’ had many positive traits, and the taste was only one.  
  
“Ah… yes, Master… of course! Um… Uh… A maid… A maid can never hurt her Master, even by accident! It is no wonder my fall was slowed in such a way!”  
  
He nodded, slowly. Success! Still, it was best to move on before he became aware of my true motives. He had called me in here to clean his desk, his paperwork having reached a record low point with my assistance. I set some of the objects on it aside, carefully filing away all the papers and color-coding them, returning his quills to their inkwells. One of the quills had worn down, actually. Inferior bird products. Bleh. I plucked one of the feathers from my wrist, cutting it into shape swiftly, and replacing the old one. It would never fail him.  
  
With the desk finally cleared off, I could begin step two of my ‘stress-relief exercises’ plan, I moved between my Master and the desk, he was still waiting for me to finish. He was so patient with me!  
  
Then, I bent my whole body over the desk, laying down on it, before starting to wash one of the corners.  
  
“Kiki…” he said, “What are you doing?”  
  
My tail raised, and with the short skirt on my uniform, it must have become clear to him I ‘forgot’ underwear today. I ‘forgot’ every day, but he didn’t have to know that.  
  
“I need to get really close to see absolutely all the dirt, Master. You’ll have the cleanest desk ever when I’m done!”  
  
“Mhmm.”  
  
I tried to keep my excitement from showing, but my tail started wagging slowly and I couldn’t stop it. I was completely exposed to my Master! He could do whatever he wanted, and why, as his maid, it was my job to service him any way he desired. Tehehehe.  
  


_But wait… I didn’t want to ‘service’ him that way! He looked… too familiar? This wasn’t right! I shouldn’t do this! I… I don’t… What’s going on!?_

_~~What IS going on? Of course we want to service our Master.~~ _

_My clothes came alive with the same tentacles and mouths that had taken my Master’s true form from me! I tried to fight it, but it felt so ~~right~~ and I couldn’t resist giving into it, just a little…_

_~~I tried~~ … I tried…_  


I tried to keep my excitement from showing, but my tail started wagging slowly and I couldn’t stop it. I was completely exposed to my Master! He could do whatever he wanted, and why, as his maid, it was my job to service him any way he desired. Tehehehe.  
  
It was time to start scrubbing, but rather than bend my arms at the elbows, I shifted my hips back and forth, back and forth. Pulling the cloth across the table, but also putting myself much closer to my Master, and then pulling away. Rocking my body in a way that might have been slightly suggestive, I scrubbed and scrubbed at the farthest reaches of the desk, keeping any excited, anticipatory moans to myself.  
  
“When it comes to cleaning, ah! Stubborn stains, a maid has to, oh! Use her whole body in the-the-the… Mmm… service of her Master.”  
  
“Right. That makes  _perfect_  sense.”  
  
I spread my legs a little wider apart. Please, Master.  
  
I heard fabric hit the floor.  
  
**Yes!**  
  


~~_**Yessss!** _ ~~

  
His deep breaths echoed in my ear as he leaned over me. “You missed a spot.” As I moved back, I felt him thrust inside me.  
  
“Mmm~” I tried to keep quiet, really, but I couldn’t help a little one. My tail did its best to wag uncontrollably, but it was pinned between my Master and I. I moved forward and backward, directly pleasuring my Master’s delightful cock for the first time, and it was  _wonderful_. He stayed still, leaned over me, arms on either side of my body, knowing as he did that I would take care of him, and that there was nothing he needed to do.  
  
I scrubbed away, rubbing desperately at the ink, grime, and dust that had built up over time, and with each stroke across the surface I was rewarded with the magnificent intricacies of my Master’s dick, every fleshy inch being written deep into my memories, each reaction to my techniques remembered, and then strung together for maximum effect, but I never neglected my duties, the desk becoming cleaner with every thrust of my body.  
  
But then, my Master grabbed my arms away from the desk, pulling them back to hold in his own as he stood, using them as handles to increase the pace. But I couldn’t neglect my duties! On one particularly lengthy thrust forward, I grabbed the cloth with my teeth, and, with a flourish, pinned it beneath my breasts. I pressed down  _hard_  against the desk, and continued scrubbing, using the cloth with only my tits and my Master’s motion, my nipples so hard by now that this was perhaps  _more_  effective.  
  
“Ahh, ahh, ahhh!” I whimpered. I knew the guests were only on the other side of the door, in the other room. I couldn’t embarrass my Master! I had to stay quiet!  
  
But it was soooo…  **hard**.  
  
When my Master came inside me, I knew joy for the first time. My large, floppy ears, often hidden in my hair, rose slightly. My tail burst free from its prison between myself and my Master, and wagged energetically. The cloth slipped out from beneath my breasts, which were over-sensitive from arousal, and I grabbed it in my teeth, to finish the last of the cleaning, and also to stifle my moans.  
  
And then, to my shame, I came with my Master inside me.  
  
The pleasure that rocked my body as I did only briefly overcame the horror of dirtying my Master’s body with my own. I would need to clean him.  
  
As he pulled out of me, I lifted myself off the desk, turning and kneeling before him.  
  
“Master, I apologize. I’ve gotten you all wet. Please, let me clean you.”  
  
He gently guided my head towards the mess I’d made, and I took him inside myself in a different way. Consuming my own cum was not something I’d ever considered, but for my Master, I would suffer any indignity. At least, if this was something I must endure, it came with the undeniable bliss of my Master’s penis, wrapped delicately between my lips. Gentle licks from my dexterous tongue removed all the filth in time, and I was unable to resist a few extra tastes, just for its own sake. My Master was a flavor far beyond even the best meals I’d ever crafted, and I’d studied the culinary arts for years to be the perfect maid. That he surpassed me so effortlessly was only proper, though. I was his subordinate, after all.  
  
I breathed hot breaths upon my Master’s flesh, speeding the drying of my saliva, as I wiped him clean with a fresh cloth.  
  
He pulled himself back into his clothing, and patted my head.  
  
“Well done, Kiki.”

 

 

* * *

**-** **Dream Six -**

**Magenta's Private Co** **llection: Katie**

* * *

  
  
  
  
  
  


  * _I was floating in a black void. I... I was Lyle. Not Gawtammit. Not... not Kiki. The dreams took me over so easily this time._  
  
_Mmmm..._  
  
_I might have to revisit that last one though, that was amazing. I can't believe it felt so **good** , even though the experiences in the dreams are so muted compared to real life..._  
  
_Suddenly, I saw Magenta appear in the void across from me, a stern look on her face._  
  
_"Hey, assholes. This is from my private collection. If you're watching this, and I didn't give it to you? I will find you, I will make you tell me every fantasy, every fetish, and every sexual act you most despise, and I will spend weeks making you into the freakiest addict to every single one that I can imagine."_  
  
_Then she smiled. "But if I did give this to you?" The grin widened. "Enjoy yourself, sweetie."_



  
  
  
  
The soft comfort of the covers helped quell the turmoil raging inside of me. The fear I’d felt when I looked at my ‘captor’ before had long since vanished, but had grown again anew when I considered how easily I could fail her in the next few moments. I could feel Aria in the room, although I couldn’t see her. I knew what that meant.  
  
“It’s time, isn’t it, Magenta?” I asked, rolling over to look at her next to me in bed. I knew what the answer would be. Aria aside, I could feel it inside myself.  
  
“Yes, it is, but don’t go soft on me now, Katie.” She said, a slight edge creeping into her voice.  
  
I shuddered. I’d been introduced to the failures, gotten to know them. But not before I’d seen her memories of who they’d been before they’d failed her. I’d watched what they’d become, horrified as they… I shuddered again. Moreso than anything else, that motivated me. I had a chance here, I couldn’t waste it.  
  
“I won’t.” I rolled a little more, wrapping my arm around her, grinding our breasts together, and pulling her in for a quick kiss. Her tail squirmed between my knees, searching for my cunt, and though allowing it entry was a favored pastime, this morning I felt like that would be a mistake. I grabbed it, instead, shoving it inside  _her_  vagina. She laughed.  
  
“I think you’ll make it,” she whispered.  
  
My eyes met hers, “I bet you say that to all the girls.” She did. I’d seen the memories. I didn’t blame her though, if I failed, it certainly wasn’t her fault. She’d done her best to help me.  
  
Lord but I was so horny. I had to hope it would be easier to deal with once this was over. In the past few days, I’d come to realize no amount of masturbation could satisfy me anymore. I’d started to need a partner to orgasm, unless I  _really_  worked at it, sometimes for hours. I was incredibly pent up, worse than it had ever been, but I knew I’d not have any relief here in bed.  
  
I had to go through the door.  
  
I sat up, crawling out from under the covers, and standing up. I went to the dresser, choosing the clothes I’d wear today. I was greeted with less fabric total than any one outfit I’d owned before I’d been captured, but although at first it had been humiliating, the sight of these clothes was empowering now. I slipped into the straps and scraps with little effort, I wore this one frequently. Like most of the rest of me, it left the crotch exposed, only accentuating it, which was a feature I’d increasingly appreciated in my time here. The best feature, though, was that the leather outlining my pussy was spiked, promising pain to anyone who decided they wanted what I had to offer.  
  
Once it was on, I touched the hidden spots that kept it spelled to my skin, and I was ready to face the day. I grabbed a fruit from the basket, meeting Magenta’s eye as I bit into it, then licked sensually at the juices, kissing at the hole I’d carved it the fruit, burying my tongue inside, hollowing more and more of the addictive flesh out with technique alone.  
  
Her eyebrow raised, but while she didn’t blush, her tail swayed back and forth under the covers in a way I knew meant she was eager to shove it deep inside me. I’d gotten her attention with that, and I smiled at her sweetly, before carelessly tossing the fruit away unfinished, over my shoulder, and picking up another one to eat instead.  
  
She stood up, incensed, before realizing I was teasing and laughing again. I was getting good if I could even pull  _her_  in.  
  
I walked out of the communication room under my own power, officially for the first time, but unofficially, I’d been in and out more than once since I’d taken to everything so well. Not that I hadn’t fought at first. I’d kicked, punched and screamed for weeks, but I’d known since the first time I came in that bed, since the first night here, that even if I escaped the building I’d never escape this city. She hadn’t even needed to touch me, just to talk. My body betrayed me the first chance it got.  
  
After all, I was the sort of girl who’d snuck away from my home and minders to find the freedom to masturbate, despite the risks, because I’d had such a naturally deep need. My first taste of demonic energy amplifying that? I was hooked, and I knew it. What was worse, at the time, was that I think she knew it too. Deep in my bones, I knew that taking in more and more of that energy was the only path I could stomach, that I had to find out how further corruption could possibly feel  _even better_  than that, and she could all but smell it on me.  
  
I hated her for that, fought even harder, but no matter how hard I struck I never so much as scratched her, never shifted her smug grin an inch. Worse, once I needed it badly enough, she made me fight her to  _take_  it, letting me stew and ache for her until I leapt at her like a furious animal. Every night it was better than the last, and when I finally told her that I  _absolutely was_  going to fuck her tonight, and she could just lay down and take it, or I could make her? Ugh, even just the memory was making me too horny. I needed to focus.  
  
I walked through the door that led to the stage-room, and was immediately assaulted by the smells of sex. Incubi fucking nearly every conceivable monster girl, a raging party thrown on Magenta’s dime. It rolled over me in a wave, the smell of semen, and I nearly buckled right there. I hadn’t seen a man in… Lord, months? Could they… fix this horrible hollow feeling if I asked? If I begged? Even Magenta can’t anymore. Fuck, I was sooooo…  _horny_.  
  
No, no. No! I was here for a reason. I had to find my husband. I couldn’t let one find  _me_. I sauntered through the crowd, catching appraising glances from every eye, and some knowing looks from some of the more aware Mamono here. The ones who weren’t busy being bent over by their husbands.  
  
Speaking of, a familiar Succubus caught my eye, and I sighed internally. Elsie. Not this slut again. She waved at me, grinning from the inside of a gangbang, jerking guys off with her fingers and toes, and trying to say my name around her husband’s cock, doing a disgustingly decent job. Too much practice.  
  
“Katie,” she drooled, “You godda twy dis.”  
  
Despite myself, I was sorely tempted. I knew what would happen if I gave in, but the idea of being as  _full_  as she so obviously was… it called to me. I reminded myself of who she was. Who she’d been. She used to be an academic, a woman I could have respected, she could have been anything she wanted. Now all she wanted was cock. She’d stood where I was standing, and she’d made the wrong choice. She was happy, sure, but was she still Elsie? She barely had the time to be, if she was. She spent all her time getting fucked by her husband.  
  
I smiled at her, and said a little too honestly; “Maybe later,” as I neatly weaved between the men who’d been starting to surround me, although there was nothing sinister about it. Assuming consent in a place like this wasn’t unreasonable. That didn’t make them any less dangerous to me, though.  
  
I kept walking, past drinks and drugs, food and flesh, and finally I reached the door on the other side. I put my fingers on the handle and-  
  
And someone grabbed my ass. I turned around, fuming but also flushed, and I came face to face with the most beautiful thing I’d ever seen. He had to be six and a half feet tall, and was muscled in a way that clearly meant he knew how to have a good time. I could smell half a dozen types of alcohol on him, and his short brown hair was still just long enough that I could run my fingers through it, if I wanted.  
  
I wanted.  
  
His hand was still on my ass, and I could feel myself falling. I nearly didn’t react in time to dodge a drunken kiss.  
  
“Oh Sarah, you’re sooo pretty…” he said, in my ear.  
  
I could be Sarah if he wanted me t-  
  
I shook those thoughts out of my head, and only barely, then I grabbed him by the throat and pushed him off of me. I slid through the door before I could give into the instinct to start fucking him now that he was on the ground, and as I closed the door, the sounds stopped, the smells faded, and the lights nearly blinded me. I took a deep breath, sinking to the floor in relief. Too close.  
  
As I blinked the darkness out of my eyes, I heard a voice.  
  
“Oh shit, you’re human too! Get me out of here!” The man sounded panicked, and he rattled at the bars of his cage, which revealed themselves to me as the world came into focus.  
  
I smiled at him, warily. “Yeah, of course. What’s your name?”  
  
“Ted,” he said, again shaking the bars.  
  
“I’m going to get you out of there, Ted. Just hold on!” I pretended to search the room for the key, and after a few moments, I ‘found’ it.  
  
I walked over to the cage, and stopped just out of reach. Faking concern, I asked; “Wait, I can’t let you out! How do I know you aren’t one of those  _things_? They look just like regular guys. This horrible disguise only barely got me past the last one!”  
  
A wild look entered his eye, “I’m not, I’m not, I swear! I can prove it, I’ll do anything!”  
  
I had to restrain my smile, he didn’t know how right he was. “Okay… well, the only way to tell is for you to… uh… cum.” He backed away, immediately suspicious, “I know, I know, I’m sorry, but their cum is black, it’s all the evil energy in it. If yours isn’t, you’re still pure, and I’ll let you out.”  
  
A lie. If it were so easy to tell them apart, the church would be requiring that sort of thing. But he didn’t know that. He nodded, slowly. Despite his insistence that he was clean, he couldn’t have been here more than five minutes without taking in at least a little of the Demonic energy floating around, even if he just breathed it in, or drank the water. Deep down inside, his body already wanted to cum, and I’d just given him a guilt-free excuse. Of course he took it.  
  
He kept looking at me self-consciously.  
  
“I have to watch,” I insisted. “I know it’s gross, but it’s the only way I can be sure it’s not a trick.”  
  
He was naked, and so he didn’t have any clothes in the way. He started playing with himself, and I tried not to show too much interest in how his prick flopped around, slowly getting stiffer and more enticing. Once he was preoccupied, facing mostly away from me, I snuck into the cell, and hit him over the head.  
  
By the time he woke, I had him tied up, his arms behind his back and his legs bound.  
  
“…Wha… What!? No, no but… but you’re human! Why are you doing this!?” He cried, as he came to his senses.  
  
I smiled at him as I realized **I’d done it**. I was never going to be reduced to some dick-sucking bitch. At the realization, the urge to give in, that horrible heat raging in me, which had been burning incessantly for days now, turned instantly into cold fire and I leapt into the feeling, exultant.  
  
“Because, Ted,” I said, “you’re a man, and so you’re mine. My property. I can do whatever I want to you. I don’t need any reason for anything I do to you, you just have to deal with it, and once you admit that, I’ll finally let you cum. If you’re lucky.”  
  
Running my hands up against him, I took in a fraction of the demonic energy he’d already assimilated. Sensual thrills assaulted me as a delightful shade of blue started creeping up my hands, and wicked horns slowly pushed out of my head as I teased at his squirming, screaming body, my tail slowly growing to the length that I could finally weave it into my aching cunt.  
  
As my new wings spread out behind me, I said; “And I’m not human, you stupid prick, I’m a Demon.”

 

 

* * *

 

 

I jolted awake. I felt horrible. And, more horribly, I felt  _wonderful_. For all that I felt like I wanted to vomit, I was also flushed, my heart racing, and I was painfully hard. I was conflicted in the worst way. I’d worried about the same things, after all, that Katie had done something I couldn’t stomach just to avoid. I still feared Faust’s plan would wind up with me as an ‘Elsie’, especially after the brief time I'd spent in her body, but was being a ‘Katie’ any better? I didn’t  _want_  to think so.  
  
But remembering Ted squirming under my… under  _her_  fingers, his expression rapidly speeding from horrified to rapturous, it got me going just as hard as anything any of my wives had done for me. Maybe moreso, in some cases. I remembered exactly what his flesh felt like beneath me, how his body slowly relaxed into me, how it cranked my arousal every time his guard dropped a little more with each stroke of my fingers across his chest, and how fucking frustrated I felt as I realized the dream was ending before I’d had the chance to enjoy him like I’d  _earned_.  
  
That was the hell of it. Most of the other dreams had ended similarly, not really focusing on a proper fucking, mostly concerned with the buildup, but Kiki’s dream had been different. I’d only just learned what Katie was about to experience, and while dream sensations were an admittedly pale echo, it was infuriating. It was surprising to me that even a generally submissive type of Mamono like the Kikimora was capable of a kind of domination, when she got desperate. More, she’d been rewarded so  _sweetly_  for it. Actually, that was a common theme, wasn’t it? Being rewarded for taking control?  
  
The Werewolf, Rachel, if she’d submitted to the Werewolf who’d corrupted her, would have likely been completely subsumed, but instead she and her friend kept more of their minds than most werewolves I’d heard of. The slime, Slime, only found her husband because she’d risked herself, and while that one was probably the weakest, it felt ~~almost targeted at me~~ , not that I really minded. The Manticore wasn’t even subtly pushing the point, and while you could argue that Gawtammit was just confused, she still pressed through what was a near crippling fear of the surface, and took control of the situation immediately and decisively.  
  
All culminating in the best argument for the way Mamono generally treated men that I’d ever even heard of. Because, being honest, I knew most guys were not as understanding as I was, and with that peak inside of Kiki’s mind… I had to wonder how much of that was Beeps’ influence. If she’d always intended for us to be together, she’d had a lot of opportunity to push me the same way Kiki had her Master, though being Beeps, she’d have been able to successfully be subtle about it, unlike Kiki had. Would I ever know? If she had, was I even upset? I’d been with her since I was so young that a rejection of what she  _might_  have done was essentially rejecting  _myself_. I liked myself. I was proud of the family we’d created, and I’d be hard-pressed to think of a better way for it all to have gone.  
  
Even Sally’s death and subsequent Undeath, arguably the worst part of all this, had still led to meeting people I could no longer imagine life without. What would have happened to Blackberry? To Amy? To Akubra, alone in this big empty house? What if I’d had to keep wearing all those shitty rags I’d been foolish enough to have called ‘clothes’? Any one of them was horrible to contemplate.  
  
Where was I? Uh… right. The best argument I’d heard for the way Mamono generally treated men. Although still barely human, Katie had been starving for sex, starving so badly that she’d been repeatedly tempted to throw her mind away to get herself fed, and that she’d managed to  _only_  completely compromise her morals instead was an act of  **iron will** , and honestly no small amount of chance.  
  
Before Beeps had come to town, food had been scarce. She’d actually been nearly run out of town at the start, but had simply came back dragging a sled piled high with deer and a full grown bear. “Eat,” she’d said. I’d been old enough that I remembered hunger, though, how badly it  _hurt_. What we, and those around us, had sometimes had to do to make sure everyone was fed. Mamono were starving too, and we’d hated and persecuted them for it. When I’d been young, I’d taken a corn cob from a stand to eat, and nearly started a small riot, though I hadn’t realized it at the time. Apparently, the way my parents had told it, tensions hadn’t died down for nearly a month, because everyone was hungry, and the food was  _right there_. That their neighbors were the ones selling it, and were openly doing so as cheaply as they could afford to was all that had restrained people, but it had been a fragile peace.  
  
Mamono weren’t any different. If we had access to enough energy, enough talent, eventually the Demon Lord would be able to change monsters enough to birth Incubi. So the rumors went, anyway, and with how much she’d changed them already, it was easy to believe. Male monsters had used to exist, after all. If we worked together, starvation was no longer an issue for anyone. Like my wives, I didn’t need to eat much anymore, either, and once I was entirely an Incubus the need would vanish completely. Sex would be enough to sustain me.  
  
Mmm… sex. I should go find Faust and Beeps. It was time to feed them.  
  
…Uh, after I was done with my emotional crisis, anyway. Fuck but I’d fallen far if I could be distracted so easily from something so important.  
  
…But people weren’t cooperating. I understood why, in concept. They were afraid. So was I, honestly, both before all of this, and even now. If only there was some way to explain? If Mamono and Humans could work together, the process could be controlled. Dating could be done safely, maybe with some kind of glass, separating Incubi from Mamono? Once you’d found someone you could get along with, the barriers could be removed and… I don’t know. There must be a way. No one should have to live like this, and it wasn’t the Mamono’s fault that they did. It was possible for people to find someone they could  _really_  love, I was proof, and as a result of us being compatible, even with five or six Mamono in my life, I was still coherent.  
  
Admittedly, I was getting frustrated with my sex drive at this point, but harems weren’t exactly the norm. One or two Mamono well matched to an Incubus should be entirely sustainable. It’s not like I was especially willful, and even with so many I was still basically myself. Maybe all that was really necessary was a change in approach?  
  
If I’d been told ‘you can live longer, won’t ever starve, you’ll be matched to someone you’d willing marry if they were human, our cities are safer and more advanced, and you won’t need to live in fear anymore’ rather than ‘come fuck me, I love you, I’ll make you feel so good’… I bet I’d have accepted, eventually, if not for Faust and Beeps anyway, and most people didn’t have either one holding them back.  
  
We just needed to show people what we were offering in a way that didn’t frighten them. The Chief God and the church were problems, but probably solvable ones. We were stronger. We could come back from the dead, and  _bring their dead back with us_. And, most importantly, it didn’t have to come to that. Churches were ultimately made of people, and people could be convinced. That left the Chief God, and her angels. I knew already that Angels could be convinced, some even lived in Morningwood, so… really just the Chief God. If she really loved humans so much, seeing them thrive ought to be enticement enough, and weren’t monsters her creations too? Shouldn’t she love them also? But even if not, if neither was really true, should one person be allowed to stand in the way of everyone else, whatever their power or position? Put that way, the answer was clear.  
  
I didn’t have to be Elsie, and I didn’t have to be Katie, either. When the time came, when Faust brought me back, I’d find someone willing to love all of my wives the way they deserved, and a person like that would be the sort of person I could deal with as well. If I had to be a little pushy about it, that was fine, honesty, earnesty, and persistence were the most important things. I could convince people this was the right way by example, with conversation, and with... Hehehe… with ‘subjugation via gentle temptation’. Such a silly way to put it, you’d expect a Mamono to know love when she saw it.  
  
…Come to think of it, wasn’t that how Magenta had convinced Katie? Just talking? So it  _was_  possible. I’d have to ask what she’d said.  
  
I itched at my forehead, idly, as I crawled out of bed. It was past time to get up. My wives were hungry.

 


	10. 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The formatting here is not ideal. I did my best, but this is always going to read better when I have control over the font and don't have to use bold/italics/strikethrough for everything. Sorry. It is what it is.

“My love, what has your mind so troubled?” Faust asked, “Your performance did not suffer, but I can tell you are distracted by something unpleasant.”  
  
Beepatrice put her hand on my head. “Healthy.”  
  
We were in Faust’s room, seated on her bed, and Beeps and she had fed already, as was getting to be our routine. I was up early enough that I’d probably head out with Amy on her run after this, too. Spending a little time with the rest of the girls after devoting a day to Blackberry seemed like a good call.  
  
A loud thumping echoed from behind the sheets covering Faust’s workplace from view.  
  
“Well,” I said, “On the one hand, I’m getting a little bit concerned about whatever  _that_  is. It keeps coming back again faster, louder, and more violently.”  
  
Faust pointedly ignored my implied question.  
  
“But mostly,” I said, graciously moving on, “I’m still thinking about the dreams I had last night.”  
  
“Ah, Magenta’s offerings, yes? I had some myself, and I must say they are exquisite!” Faust gushed, “My time in the body of the rare Ittan-Momen has given me much to consider.”  
  
“Ittan-Momen?” I asked, momentarily distracted.  
  
“Indeed. They are fine creatures, a type of cloth-ghost, essentially. Living fabric. I’d been considering applying the Mummy’s curse to myself, to increase my flesh’s sensitivity to its maximum, and it would be necessary to enshroud myself in bandages to function in the day-to-day if I do so. By taking lessons from the Ittan-Momen, I may be able to parlay those strips of cloth into a sort of series of tentacle-like appendages, not to mention turning my cloak and hat into sexual organs, nearly inseparable from myself.” She sighed, happily. “To take such a thoughtful gift and make it into a piece of myself, I cannot deny the appeal of the idea. Why, even my phylactery…” She trailed off, looking embarrassed. “never mind, now is not the time. You were saying?”  
  
“One of my dreams was… the final stages of a woman becoming a Demon.” I said, quietly.  
  
Beeps, having had me wrapped in a hug already, tightened it at my obvious distress.  
  
“That horrible slut!” Faust said, indignant, standing up and pacing, “Doesn’t she know anything of subtlety? You are a fragile creature! Not well responsive to such things!”  
  
“Ah, I don’t know about  _fragile_ …” I grumbled, halfheartedly.  
  
“Lyle, Magenta was natural born, so she may be an exception, but for a human woman to become a Demon, rather than merely a Succubus, she must be indoctrinated! Made to believe that Monsterization is best for not only her, but for everyone, and then taught to aggressively pursue that goal. There is a reason the radical faction of Mamono are so feared. Demons are temptresses, whispering salacious words into the minds of the unwary and making Mamono of entire villages! Such a mindset is  **the**  difference between a Succubus and a Demon. It’s a rather extreme position by itself, to say nothing of the way they generally treat their men as property.”  
  
She huffed, frustrated, then continued, “There is no shame in being comparatively fragile in the face of such things. A mind like that would naturally be disturbing to a gentle soul like yourself, especially being made to enjoy the process by the dream as you are along for the ride.”  
  
I frowned. “It was a little… unsettling. The worst part was definitely the way she treated Ted. I’m sure they’re happy together now, but that’s really no excuse. Although…”  
  
Faust raised an eyebrow. “Although?”  
  
I shuddered. “She was just so  _hungry_. The scariest thing about it is that in her position, I might have acted no different.”  
  
Faust leaned in too, surrounding me on both sides with a huggy Mamono, Beepatrice stroking my back, gently.  
  
“Lyle, that simply isn’t true. You-”  
  
“Isn’t it!?” I interrupted, surprised by my own volume, “Sorry. I mean… It’s just, when I was in your body…”  
  
As I trailed off, her eyes widened. Yeah, that’s right. You can’t honestly have forgotten, can you?  
  
“That… that’s hardly representative, Lyle.” She shuffled, uncomfortably, before burying her head in my chest. “My body is attuned to you in a way that I cannot properly describe without hours of laying the background. You cannot take that experience as the norm. Were you not more controlled in… Amy’s body?”  
  
I could see her wince as she said it, realizing her argument was, at best, flawed.  
  
“Moo.” I said. While it was true that Faust’s body had been much more overwhelming, even Amy handled her first proper milking better than I had, and she’d been waiting her whole life for it, or years of it, anyway.  
  
“Hmmm… ‘Moo’ indeed.” Faust muttered. “As a Zombie, your instincts would be even more overpowering… But Wights tend to be quite refined and restrained. Their idea of a party is more ball  _gowns_  than ball  _gags_. Your… affinity, let us say… for Mamono forms may actually speed your transformation to Wighthood, and then be a blessing there, rather than a curse. I did not choose your form carelessly, my love.”  
  
“If you’re sure…” I said. “I guess; I mean… I know that I trust you, and this is sort of your ‘thing’ so if you say so… I just, I’m worried. There were more dreams in the little case she gave me, and I had to  _fight_   _myself_  as hard as I ever had just to avoid succumbing to temptation and downing three more. I’m not sure I want to know what’s in them, but I’m sure I want them in  _me._  I don’t want to lose myself. It’s frightening.”  
  
“Your concerns are quite valid, Lyle. I shall look into what can be done to mitigate them.” Faust continued, at a murmur, “Some potential Zombies actually rise as Wights immediately instead. If I can isolate the inciting factor, ensure its presence…”  
  
Removing her arms from around me, she clapped her hands, and stood. “I must experiment.”  
  
I stood, too, and Beepatrice stayed wrapped around me, being dragged along limply as I walked. I’d used my tentacles again, and she was always a mess for a while afterwards. It was so cute I couldn’t stop.  
  
“Before you get all wrapped up in this,” I said, glad to switch topics, “I want to know what that noise was.”  
  
Her eyes shifted rapidly around the room, looking for something to distract me with, no doubt.  
  
“ _Faust_ …” I said, warningly.  
  
She sulked. “Very well.” She pulled the curtain back, and I  ~~slid to the side~~ before I realized what I was doing. A sharp, familiar-looking spine sailed through the air, and embedded in the wall behind me. I turned back, looking at the table, and…  
  
“Faust, what the hell are those!?”  
  
She crossed her arms, looking away from me. “They are sea-sponges. My experiments with Mamono body parts utilize them, as promised.”  
  
“Faust, that is not a sea sponge with a piece of a Mamono attached, that’s a piece of a Mamono with a sea sponge attached!”  
  
It was true. The tails of many a Manitcore, presumably grown, and not stolen, wiggled around in a large glass box like so many snakes. And not small ones. That each one had a tiny sea sponge at the end of it was almost immaterial. They appeared to know I was in the room, the pussy ends all pressed against the glass. One had broken a small bit of the durable material out of their cage, and was firing their well-known poison at me. Having seen what happened to those so struck first hand, I kept dodging.  
  
“Faust!”  
  
“I know, I know.” She shut the curtain. “I did not expect they would be full size, proportional makes much more  _sense_.” She looked at the ground, “I will have them destroyed before they learn teamwork, or worse. They have served their purpose in any case.”  
  
Served their-? “Tell me you didn’t.”  
  
In answer, she turned around, showing me her ass. Quite aside from the genuinely delightful real estate generally present there, my eyes eventually stopped arguing with me and landed at the base of her spine, where, sure enough, a small, raised mound was already developing.  
  
“With the infusion of energies I’ve just received,” she said, chattering excitedly, “I believe we can expect full growth by the early afternoon!”  
  
I put my head in my hands.  
  
“Do not be such a drama queen, Lyle. My gaining of another orifice for pleasuring you with is hardly burdensome upon you.”  
  
I hummed to myself. That was true.  
  
“I… I’ll think about it.”  
  
I walked out of the room, dragging Beeps with me, her small, pleasured noises a reassuring presence. She was starting to regain herself more completely, which meant I wouldn’t miss my run with Amy if I hurried.

 

 

* * *

 

 

 

“You’re getting pretty good at this!” Amy said, cheerfully, as we ran through the lesser used streets, still practically empty in the early part of the morning. She didn’t even sound slightly winded.  
  
I, on the other hand, breathed belaboredly as I replied, “You think?” Huff, “I’m pretty sure,” puff, “it’s the whole,” huff, “Incubus thing.”  
  
That was an understatement. I might be breathing hard, but we’d run miles in minutes. I’d always been fit enough, but the rate of improvement here was absurd.  
  
We slowed to a stop, and she turned to look at me, putting her hand on my shoulder.  
  
“How are you doing with that?” She asked, “I’ve been meaning to ask.”  
  
“Fine, I think.” I replied, honestly. “I’m a little worried about how much of my day is sex-related, and how high my sex-drive’s gotten, but I did marry a lot of Mamono, it’s to be expected.”  
  
She nodded, thoughtfully. “I guess that makes sense. You have to match all of us, that’s got to be a lot of work.”  
  
“Worth every second, don’t get me wrong,” I assured her, running my hand up her thigh, before leaning back against the building. “As long as I still get out there and do stuff like this, take you girls out on dates, make sure we’ve got time to chat, and get a little time alone to decompress… I think that’s fine. I definitely don’t mind spending my time fucking pretty women like yourself.”  
  
She smiled at me, brightly. “I still have trouble believing you think of me that way; you know? It’s bizarre. I’d all but given up on finding love, had nearly settled on taking it instead.”  
  
“If you ever need a reminder, I’m up for another swap,” I suggested, waggling my eyebrows.  
  
She blushed, her ears twitching, the tag which read ‘free hugs’ still piercing one of them, and I could smell her starting to leak milk out, just a little. When we were jogging, she didn’t often wear her sweater, so it was easy to see her nipples harden, too.  
  
“I don’t know if I ever told you,” she said, changing the subject bluntly, “I actually used to be human.”  
  
That  _was_  new information. “No, I didn’t know.”  
  
She nodded, “I drank some ‘extra-thick’ Holstaur milk in an… incident when I was younger. It took me instantly, like it does for anyone who’s not already been monsterized. It was a few years ago, now. It’s been fun, but I do remember that moment of anxiety as I realized what was about to happen to me. I can’t imagine stretching it out over weeks. You’re strong, Lyle.”  
  
“Thanks,” I said. “Say, why haven’t I had any of this ‘extra thick’ milk?”  
  
Her blush deepened. “I want to… but it’s better to wait until you incubize on your own. I don’t want to throw you off balance.”  
  
“Well, you won’t have to wait much longer, then, I’m looking forward to it.”  
  
When she didn’t respond, just blushing and shuffling her feet, I moved on, smiling.  
  
“I think the only thing that really bothers me about all this is the itching.”  
  
“Itching?” she asked.  
  
“Yeah, my skin’s been getting steadily healthier, but I still get acne, have some minor blemishes. I assume that stuff is kind of forcing its way out of my system now that I’m so close to the end. It’s manifested as this full body itch. Especially on my forehead, and a couple… other places. I always got acne the worst under my hair, it’s naturally greasy. It’s been maddening.”  
  
She pulled me in for a hug, scratching my back. Ahhh… that’s nice~  
  
“I’m sorry, I didn’t know.” She sounded genuinely upset, like it was somehow her fault.  
  
“It’s fine, really. It’s been happening the past day or so. I’ve got to be nearly done now, I can practically taste it. Another day or two, some… uh, ‘quality time’ with you and the others, and I’ll probably be fully Incubi. After that, it should be over. That said, early on, I  _was_  tempted to just lay in bed and have Beeps itch me all over, but I quickly realized my clothes could handle it.”  
  
Her eyes widened in realization. “Oh, yeah I bet that helps a lot.”  
  
“It’s been a life saver.” I wiggled in against her, pressing my head against her chest.  
  
“Ly- _le,_ ” she sighed.  
  
“Mmm… what?”  
  
“Here in the street? Really?”  
  
I grumbled, dreamily, pressing my lips lightly against her, her bra frustratingly keeping me from what I wanted, “You’re the one who pulled me into a hug… you’re the one who smells so  _good_ … Not my fault.”  
  
She huffed, but she sounded pleased, and her heart was beating a mile a minute.  
  
Her hands rose to her chest, sliding the fabric away and-  
  
“Oh my lord,” a screechy voice cut in, “I can’t believe you, you bitch!”  
  
I turned and looked, frustrated with the interruption, and came eye to eye with a Griffon. Tall, muscular, with fluffy, full wings, legs like a lion’s and the claws of a bird of prey, here on the street, just me and Amy, she looked a little intimidating. She was clothed in all red, a large robe keeping her modesty, which was unusual for a Mamono.  
  
Then, as Amy began to shake, I realized why she was dressed that way.  
  
“ **Red Feather, you felonious fiend! Have you returned for your ass? I shall hand it to you without delay!** ”  
  
“Fran Tastic, you biiiitch! You belong to me! Mine mine mine!”  
  
My wife, once more transformed into a rambunctious, horny idiot, leapt at the Griffon, who met her in the air with gleeful rage. The Mamono who’d been setting up their stalls in the area started taking them back down with an air of defeat in their motions.  
  
“Not this shit again,” I heard one murmur.  
  
I watched as a bizarre grappling style unfolded before my eyes, a sort of weaponized sexuality. The two were aggressively groping and touching each other, each presumably trying to arouse the other into submission.  
  
Looking on as they did, while I wasn’t sure who’d come out on top, I was pretty sure I was the winner here, my erection only growing as their stifled moans broke through their attempts at restraint. But then a drop of Fran’s milk hit Red Feather’s tongue, and her struggles stopped, instantly, and her body went limp as she let out a hungry whimper. She laid there beneath Fran, on her back, her mouth open and moaning loudly, and Fran took the invitation for what it was. She leaned down over her, gently pressing her tit to Red’s mouth.  
  
“ **There, you see? Even a cretin such as you can experience joy when you submit to the powers of JUSTICE!”**  
  
I didn’t know about ‘the powers of justice’ but I saw an opening of my own I was aching to fill, onlookers or no. I sauntered up behind her, and touched her ass.  
  
“Hey Fran,” I said. “Wanna fuck? Please? I’m so hard right now, I can’t handle it.”  
  
“ **Of course, my loyal side-kick is always welcome to assist me in dispensing JUSTICE!** ”  
  
Side-kick!? What!? Ugh. Argue later, fuck now. I slid my dick into her pussy, instantly feeling better as I once more fulfilled my purpose.  
  
I rammed in and out of her, stoked to aggression by Fran’s own approach. She certainly didn’t lie still and take it, she nearly knocked me over the first time our hips crashed together. I could hear her being milked, and I wasn't the one doing it, it was driving me up the wall, to be frank.  
  
“Hurry, Fran, I want milk too.” I ground out, grunting as I came into her again and again.  
  
Her pleased ‘moos’ echoed in the streets, and the griffon gurgled excitedly beneath her, as I filled Fran and Fran filled her. I delighted in proxy-fucking the poor woman, giving Fran all the energy she needed to keep her trapped all day, as Fran jammed her fingers into the Griffon’s needy cunt.  
  
After a few minutes of that, Fran turned to me, saying, “ **Climb into my arms, Lyle, my husband, and drink deeply. I shall return us to our home at speed.** ”  
  
I did so, and we left the Griffon behind us the ground, weakly reaching for Fran, as I latched onto her instead. Once more, milk became all that mattered, and I drowned in the pleasure of our hips naturally bouncing together as she ran, fucking each other effortlessly, as I snuggled into her chest, teasing out more and more of her delightful cream, running my tongue across her nipples and always finding more to satisfy me.  
  
Mmm…

 

 

* * *

 

 

 

I was spending some time alone, in the smaller bedroom off my larger one, trying to cool off. Well, ‘alone’. Beeps was here, too, but she hardly counted. I honestly got anxious if I was entirely by myself without her for too long. Always had. The best way to relax ‘by myself’ was to bring her with me, and ask her to let me be.  
  
I’d told Amy I was doing well with the whole Incubus… ‘thing’, and I’d really thought that I was, but I’d been proven wrong almost immediately. It was a tough thing to acknowledge. But… I didn’t even think to help Fran fend off Red Feather, I’d just watched, too preoccupied with my own arousal, honestly enjoying the ‘show’. And then, even more damningly, I’d just decided to take her right there in the street, in front of everyone. Well, ‘decided’ might honestly be too strong a word. It was almost like I did it on instinct, which worried me all the more. After all, it was only yesterday that I’d been doing everything in my power to avoid doing exactly the same thing with Blackberry. I’d specifically not wanted to do it. But even acknowledging that, I couldn’t work myself up into doing anything about this. It had felt good. I liked feeling good. I’d just have to hope that after I Incubized, my desires would stabilize and I’d regain some control.  
  
If not, even these last few steps to get there might be steps too far.  
  
Akubra had been by while I was out, dropping off a package for Beeps and I, which was the pretense I’d used to seclude us. I didn’t need to make excuses to the girls, but I found I… couldn’t express the desire to be alone. Just physically  _couldn’t_. Every time I looked at one of them to say something like that, my heart beat a little faster, and I started feeling horny again. Like my body didn’t want to do what my brain was telling it, and it was fighting back.  
  
Given how happy and silly the feeling made me, I think it was winning.  
  
“Beeps?”  
  
“Lyle?”  
  
“I… I think I’m afraid.”  
  
She stood up, from her place in the corner of the room, immediately moving to my side. “Why?”  
  
She put her hand on my thigh, and I instantly, helplessly, let out a groan. I was always aroused. Always ready. It was really uncomfortable, and honestly, leaving it be too long  _hurt_. Not that I could do anything about it alone, anymore. The feeling only ever vanished when I was being touched, and especially when fucking. “Mmm…”  
  
She cocked her head at me, removing her hand.  
  
The lust was maddening. But, while masturbation didn’t help any more, I wasn’t entirely without options. Thank the Lord for my clothes, or I don’t know where I’d be. I took a moment to gather myself, after cumming into them, and feeling a little relief. I looked at her, once I had, and she had her hand back in her own lap. “That’s why. It’s… getting to be too much. There’s not a single one of you I’d want to set aside, but it’s so… hard… lately.”  
  
She hesitated as she again instinctively went to comfort me. Ultimately, she didn’t touch me. I was grateful.  
  
I was disappointed.  
  
“You won’t… you won’t treat me different, will you? If I just… stop wanting anything else? I’m so afraid I’m going to become the empty thing we were all trying to avoid. We’re so close to the end, but… I’m faltering.”  
  
She looked at me for a long moment. “Master. Is. Master.”  
  
I smiled at her, weakly. “Thanks, Beeps.”  
  
I reached out and touched her nose. It eased the discomfort, but I didn’t do it for that.  
  
“Beep.”  
  
“Beep.” She replied.  
  
I gestured to the package, which had been set next to her on the bed. “Why don’t you see what Akubra made you? …I’m sorry again that I got Sally something first.”  
  
“Forgiven,” she said, as she held up the box. Her eyes glowed for a moment.  
  
“Hat,” she announced.  
  
I snorted. She must have known I actually wanted her to open the package, she was trying to cheer me up. Simply scanning it and announcing the contents was her idea of a ‘joke’; ‘See, Master? I followed orders, aren’t you proud?’  
  
“I sort of expected it would be.” I replied. “Can  _I_  see it, too?”  
  
She pointed at my eyes, “Scanner?”  
  
I chuckled, “No Beeps, I still can’t see through walls. I’m very impressed that you can, though. How about you open it up, and we both look at it?”  
  
She nodded, carefully removing the wrapping, in stark contrast to Faust’s previous performance. The paper almost seemed to slide off, removed from its adhesive without tearing or warping. After it was folded neatly, perhaps to be reused, she opened the box in a similar way, and removed the paper blocking the hat from view, angling the box so that I couldn’t see inside until she’d finished folding the stuffing paper as well.  
  
As she removed it from the box, I again questioned to myself what exactly Akubra was thinking in that fungus-addled head of hers. It was a maid’s headband, yes, but the while the red and black checker pattern was unusual, straying from the traditional black and white, it was by far the most normal part of the design.  
  
The standout feature was the enormous, floppy bunny ears sticking out of the top of it. Red, with a lighter pink denoting the ‘inside’, they were easily two feet long, and folded down on themselves only a short way up that length as a result of gravity’s sway. One of them had a cream colored ribbon tied in a bow around it, with a brown button as the center piece. I couldn’t shake the feeling that I’d seen something very similar elsewhere, and it set me slightly on edge.  
  
Dangling from the headband, held on loosely with string, was a tag that said; ‘Wear Me’.  
  
Uh.  
  
“Beeps, I don’t know if that counts as a ‘hat’. It’s really more of a… I don’t know what. Some kind of costume? Do people dress up as rabbits as some kind of sex thing?” That seemed dangerously close to heresy, if so. Not that I cared much about that anymore, I guess, nor had I ever, really.  
  
“Hat,” She insisted.  
  
“Are you sure? I mean… I’m getting sketchy vibes here. It’s up to you, Beeps.” More accurately, I was getting harder and harder just looking at the thing, which probably didn’t mean anything good. Its nature wouldn't have escaped Beeps' attention, though. She had better senses than I, and more of them, as well.  
  
She paused to consider, and I almost missed her eyes flitting in the direction of Faust’s room. Once they did, though, I knew she’d reached her decision. Beeps refused to be outdone.  
  
She removed both the ‘Wear Me’ tag, and her hand-stitched headdress, before placing the ears on her head.  
  
“Hat,” she announced, with a hint of pride.  
  
A moment passed, where I held my breath, but after the moment passed I let it out again. Nothing had gone obviously wrong, and I had to admit the ears were kind of cute, flopping all over the place, lending a silly, whimsical air to my otherwise serious maid. The contrast appealed to me, and I reached out to touch one of the ears, get a feeling for what material it had been made from. It almost looked…  
  
As my finger brushed against the ear with the bow attached, it  _twitched away_ , and more, Beeps leapt halfway across the room, in apparent surprise. She landed face down on the floor, ass in the air, and I saw something there that made me… concerned.  
  
A fluffy little rabbit’s tail, twitching much as the ears had.  
  
Fuck me, she hadn’t leapt away.  
  
She’d  _hopped_.  
  
She rolled over, onto her back, and I noticed she was leaking oily cum at an alarming rate.  
  
“M-massster… H-h-hooott…” She groaned.  
  
Uh oh.  
  
She slipped her fingers into her cunt, immediately bucking her hips into the touch, preforming what was likely her first feat of masturbation here and now, on the floor before me. Her back arched, driving her head, neck and feet into the carpet as her body lifted into the air, thrusts increasing their pace.  
  
“Fuck… fuck… fuck…” she murmured, driving me wild without seeming to even be aware I was in the room.  
  
I wanted to help her.  
  
I wanted to fuck her.  
  
Moving to do one would instead lead to the other, so I fought to stay still as compromise. It wasn’t easy, the loud moans and schlicking sounds tickling at my senses insistently.  
  
As I watched, helpless, about a third of her light pink bangs streaked a much darker pink, and the further the color dripped down her locks, the more animal and furious her humping became, the louder her cries rose, and the more the scent of her filled the room. Her hard, synthetic flesh filled with life, seeming to become almost organic, the more natural sound even more erotic, but her mechanical nature remained apparent, both the lines between her panels, and her visible bolt and gears, remaining unchanged.  
  
Her tan lines shifted too, no longer suggesting racy underwear, or perhaps a swimsuit, but instead a sort of corset which only barely covered her privates and nipples. Not that she’d ever worn any such thing, nor was she wearing it now. It was all affectation, but the sight of it dug into my brain, I ached to trace those lines with my fingers and kisses, run my hands and lips all across her body again, like I had once before.  
  
She continued fruitlessly fucking her fingers and the empty air, obviously unable to satisfy herself, her dark juices trailing down her legs in rivers and streams, pooling on the floor. My eyes drawn to her pussy, I noticed the purple lights which sometimes flashed there, normally inscrutable diagnostic runes, were now quite legible, saying things like; ‘fuck me’, ‘dick slot’, ‘cum whore’, and ‘maid for cock’.  
  
“Beeps… B-b-beeps,” I stuttered, on the verge of madness myself, “take… take it off…”  
  
Her wide eyes locked on to me the moment I spoke, her body shifting to accommodate her view, but not stopping in its erotic dance, and I saw her round pupils replaced with heart shaped ones, and an emptiness inside those same eyes that frightened and aroused me.  
  
“Take… take it off? Yess…” She hissed, exultant, “Master can have it, Master will help, Master is  _best_ …”  
  
Her voice had an airy, distant quality, something like Akubra’s, actually, and I abruptly realized where I’d seen those ears before. Another type of maid Mamono I’d encountered in my many studies of them… for self-defense purposes of course. One that was always in an uncontrollable heat.  
  
The March Hare.  
  
A Wonderlander.  
  
While I was distracted with that revelation, Beepatrice played with her crotch with both hands, and suddenly, the panel housing it popped off with a wet sound and a delighted; “oh  _fuck_  yes… master… master fuck, yes…”  
  
As she tossed her vagina at me, I had a moment to think ‘not what I meant by 'take it off'!’ before I caught it for fear of it breaking. It twitched and writhed, although separate from her, and still spewed juices it had nowhere to store. My crotch and lap were quickly filled, and the liquid spilled down my legs as well.  
  
H-h-hoooott…  
  
I eagerly slid aside my outer layer, exposing my cock, and buried it deep inside. Beepatrice screamed, and so did I, oh fuck it felt so  _good_. I noted absently that my dick didn’t seem to actually be  _going_  anywhere, I could see the machinery inside Beeps, it wasn’t there, I could see the other side of the panel, too, not there either.  
  
But fuck it. Who fucking cares?  
  
Shit this is amazing.  
  
I lifted her crotch up and down on my dick as fast as I could manage, occasionally losing focus and just basking in the feeling before returning to fucking her properly. Every thrust seemed to push Beeps across the floor, although she wasn’t within physical reach, she still seemed to feel it. Certainly, something was pulsing and clenching around my dick, drinking down my ever-present cum, and if Beeps was the one benefiting, I didn’t give a damn how it worked.  
  
I fucked her across the floor from across the room, her joyful tears slightly easing her way as she pushed her face into the carpet, licking and kissing at the ground for lack of a better target as she was shoved against it by invisible force. Her hands, with no pussy to please, played with her tits instead, since they were not quite big enough to drag along the floor as well, with her ass so far into the air.  
  
She shook that ass enticingly, and I took her invitation, shoving my tentacles inside her mechanical internals, and through all her orifices, discovering a new, fleshy body bound to hers as I did so, mapping to each of her formerly fake skin panels.  
  
It was fucking weird, but I was okay with  _fucking_  weird.  
  
“Master, Master, fuck fuck fuck, so good, Master, love you, Master…”  
  
“Beeps, Beeps, fuck I can’t take it, oh Lord, this is sooo good, I love you so much…!”  
  
I kept cumming, as I always did, but Beeps was being held at the edge, try as I might, I couldn’t take her there. Ugh… ugh please, Beeps, please… Why wouldn’t she…?  
  
“C’mon, Beeps, cum!”  
  
She did, apparently only awaiting my command, screaming as loud as I’d ever heard her. “LYLE!  _LYLE_! AHhhHH~!”  
  
The runic lights on her vaginal panel flashed; ‘I LOVE MASTER’ over and over as she soaked my bed through with a frankly ludicrous amount of girl-cum, and I slathered my hand with some, slurping it down. It was so deliciously  _Beeps._  Struck by an idea, I stopped using my tongue, and began soaking it up with my clothes and tentacles instead.  
  
Fuck, but ~~taking in cum this way was how it was fucking meant to be~~ , shit.  
  
I lost myself in the sensation of one of my favorite meals as I cleaned the room up of any evidence of our indiscretions. Not that the noises could have been missed by anyone within five miles. Her screams and mine had been so desperate, even the deaf, if any, had probably been alerted by someone nearby, just in case something had gone horribly wrong instead of  _horribly right_.  
  
I crawled over, too tired to stand properly, and laid myself down on top of Beeps. Her face was flushed, and we smiled at each other, basking in our closeness, before I reached up and gently removed the ears. It was an effort, but hardly impossible. Likely a strong magnet, or something.  
  
I felt her body reversing its sudden shifts beneath me, flesh giving way to synthetic paneling, returning my maid to her normal form. Good. I’d been a little worried for a moment. After I came back to my senses, anyway.  
  
That part of her hair seemed to be permanently dyed, though. It was kinda cute, so I didn’t mind.  
  
“Beeps,” I said, “I think it would be a bad idea to keep wearing those.”  
  
“Affirmative.” She agreed, with an undertone of embarrassment.  
  
“But…”  
  
She looked up at me, curiously.  
  
“Maybe we can keep them for special occasions.”  
  
She smiled, widely, and I thought, just for a moment, that her pupils flashed heart-shaped.  
  
“Affirmative.”

 

 

* * *

 

 

 

If I was going to go under, and it increasingly looked like I was, having been so easily distracted from worrying about having too much sex by the prospect of  _more sex_ , then there was at least one more thing I wanted to do. Ironically, it was a sex thing.  
  
I knocked on the door, feeling a little odd about doing so. This was the only room in the house where I’d always knock before entering. Except, I guess, the bathroom. Anyway. Faust’s door looked the same as all the others, a plain wooden door, painted brown. Likely, given how the rooms in these houses worked, it  _was_  the same as everyone else’s.  
  
She peered out of a crack in the door, darkness looming on the other side. I knew she kept her room lit, did she turn the lights off before she opened the door? To look mysterious? Ugh, probably. What a doofus.  
  
“Lyle, darling?” I caught sight of something waving lazily behind her as she spoke, hard to see in the darkness.  
  
“Hey, Faust.” I said, “I wanted to talk to you for a minute.”  
  
Sure enough, as she opened the door, I saw that the waving was being caused by a freshly grown Manticore’s tail, leading naturally out from her body. Hers looked a bit different from the average ‘scorpion-like’ look of a standard Manticore, though. It was more of her blue flesh that covered it, rather than the tough, ribbed plates. I got the sense, even without eyes, that it was watching me, much like the others had been.  
  
“Do you like it?” She’d seen me looking, and was smiling as I glanced back at her. “It’s a bit more autonomous than I imagined, unfortunately. I cannot guarantee you will stay unstung until I do a bit more work on it, bring it more fully under my control.”  
  
“I, uh…” I didn’t really want to be poisoned that way, but I’m sure I’d change my mind once I tried it. I didn’t have much time left, anyway. Probably couldn’t afford to wait.  
  
It was dripping more and more as I looked at it.  
  
“Well, do come in, Lyle.” She said, carelessly, flinging the door open, and bringing the lights up with a snap of her fingers. “We can hardly have a fulfilling  _chat_  with you standing in the doorway.”  
  
I entered her room, door sliding shut behind me, with the sense that I was being entrapped, despite my willingness. There was something very predatory about her at the moment. Not that she had the new tail, but like she thought she’d finally come to the close of a long project, and I was the final step, falling into place as planned. Maybe I wouldn’t have to argue with her to get this done.  
  
I sat in a chair she swept away to her room. One of the less comfortable ones that had populated in the living room, although ‘less comfortable’ wasn’t saying much, it was still one of the  _most_  comfortable chairs I’d ever sat in, with just enough room for someone to climb in on top of me.  
  
Faust, however, stayed standing, pacing with nervous energy.  
  
How did I want to start this? I knew it was a touchy subject for her…  
  
“Faust, I-”  
  
“Lyle, I-”  
  
We smiled at each other. She waved me ahead.  
  
“Faust, I want to have sex with you.” I said. “And properly, this time. I need it. I can’t stop thinking about it. Every time we’re in the room together, that’s what’s on my mind. I want to be able to look you in the eyes without fantasizing about getting between your legs, but I  _can’t_  anymore. It’s awful. I know I’m supposed to wait until I’m ready, but… Can’t I be ready now? When I was feeding you this morning…”  
  
I trailed off.  
  
She stayed silent, waiting for me to continue.  
  
“…I nearly pinned you down and took it.” I said, ashamed. “I think I get it, now, what you were waiting for, really, I do. This passion I feel, so far beyond what I was capable of before… It’s the same thing that turned you into what you are. It’s maddening. You’re all I can think about. You and the others, but you especially. It’s not merely that I want to have sex with you, though I do, but that I  _need_  it. Not only that I wish to spend my life with you, but that I  _must_ , that anything else is unacceptable. It’s been getting worse. It all has, it’s overwhelming me, but this especially is becoming an obsession. I  _need_  to fuck you. I can’t not. Please, Faust, please. Why are you keeping this from me!?”  
  
She sighed. “I… have been wondering, perhaps… if I’ve been unfair to you, Lyle. In demanding you wait until I deemed you ready. I stand by that desire, but… I have always found another convenient reason to delay. In truth, I ache for you as well. It is… unsettling to see you this way, begging, admitting to losing yourself to the need that we both share. Yet, if I were without my phylactery, I would be the same and worse still. I still think you are unready, but... perhaps I have been too harsh.”  
  
I let out a happy sound. Our thoughts, our bodies, were headed in the same direction, and being so close to her, her smell was overwhelming me, such that I had difficulty forming proper words.  
  
“I would ask only one thing more of you, my love, one more indulgence. Please, let me make use of this new appendage first, that I might further optimize myself for our encounter.”  
  
I nodded, not sure I could have refused even if I wanted to. I was writhing in my chair in anticipation, aching to satisfy her. I’d come here to do that, my last act as myself, to sleep with the love of my life, but I couldn’t help but wonder if I was too late.  
  
“Lyle…” the beautiful creature said, tenderly, “I am worried for you. We must talk of your resurrection, and soon. I would not have you slip through my fingers.”  
  
“Whatever you want, Faust,” I mumbled, dreamily.  
  
My clothing cradling me from behind, presenting me to her lying in the chair, my front half uncovered. My erection burned so hot I could have probably gotten off humping the air, feeling the coolness of it sliding past me, much like Beeps had been doing. Of course, that wasn’t true. I’d never cum without one of my wives there to coax it from me. What a waste that would be.  
  
I felt the moment when the dart entered my body, piercing my flesh. My eyes swam, more than they already were, as my dick lit aflame.  
  
“Ah! Ahh! Owww! It feels so good it hurts!” I babbled, madly.  
  
Cum began drooling out from my cock, unbidden, and My Love was there to take it, thankfully. The pressure increased, until I found myself moving without conscious choice. That’s right. I’d read about this. Your mind stays unaffected, but your body needs to cum. My mind didn’t  _feel_  unaffected, but it never did, anymore, and I definitely needed to cum. My hands stroked up and down my length, puppeted by some part of myself too deep in the depths of my subconscious to be known to me. Whatever piece of me lived down there, it knew exactly what it was doing. I came harder and harder, the breaks between each spurt growing smaller all the time.  
  
Finally, they ceased altogether, the streams of jizz now a strange unending deluge, both horrifying in abstract but utterly joyous in execution. Then she wrapped her tail’s cunt around me, and my hands gripped it instinctively, taking control of the pace and setting it as fast as they could manage, only barely not slipping off in their haste.  
  
I tried to focus my eyes to look at her, make sure she was enjoying herself too, but every time I made progress, another jolt of pleasure wracked my body, running through it like a wave, throwing my head back into the depths of the chair. Eventually, that rocking became a part of the rhythm of my thrusts, it’s original purpose forgotten.  
  
The inside of her tail was lined with tiny prehensile tentacles, each caressing me like fingers, or tongues, pulling me in deeper, tracing my every length, then gently sliding me out, only to bring me back again, always gently, despite my frantic movements, the urgency with which I pumped her up and down my cock.  
  
“Oh, Lyle…” the wonderful woman said, “I can feel it remaking me! Oh, oh it’s so spectacular!”  
  
The knowledge she was enjoying herself was all I needed to finally slip down into that wet, happy, warm place where nothing really mattered. I’d touched the edges of that place before, a few times. When I’d first put on my clothes, that time in the bath, finally taking Blackberry, out in the street with Amy… but now I **_dove into it, wrapped myself up in it._**  
  
**_Fuck, fuck, fuck…_**  
  
**_Mmmmm…_**  
  
**_Ahh, I kept fucking my wife and it was sooo good._**  
  
**_Eventually though, the feeling left me, dripping off, and the world was more unpleasant for its passing. I got the sense that I could have grabbed onto it, if I’d known it was going to go, have kept myself safe and happy, but I’d not reacted in time._**  
  
**_I looked at the woman… at my wife…? At Faust. Faust._ Sally.**  
  
**_I looked at Sally, but she seemed disappointed. I felt the same. We weren’t fucking, but sometimes we had to stop so I could move to fuck one of the others, right?_**  
  
_“_ Sally…? What’s wrong?” **_Maybe I could help? I tried kissing at her face a little, and she giggled, but there were still tears running down her face._**  
  
“Lyle~ st _oooop_ …”  
  
**_Okay._**  
  
**_I stopped, waiting for her._**  
  
“I… I thought I felt it.” She said, and I was confused. “The change, I mean. When a Manticore has sex with her tail for the first time, it changes her to her husband’s ideal form. I thought I felt it, but… it must not have worked. Nothing’s changed. I took exacting measurements, but I’ve no need to redo them, it’s obvious nothing is different to even a casual glance." She spun around, trying to look at herself.  
  
“Damn. I will have to try again.”  
  
**_Again?_**  
  
“We can go again if you want, Sally.” **_I said, eagerly._**  
  
**_Something tickled at me, from the back of my mind. Annoyed, I chased the thread down, trying to silence it._**  
  
“I just don’t understand where I went wrong. I should be beautiful!”  
  
**_My mind_** slowly, **_regretfully_** climbed up out of the **_sexy morass_** , and this time I caught what she was saying properly. I went down so deeply this time... It felt  _good_.  
  
“Sally,” I said, frowning, “Of course you don’t look any different, you idiot. There’s nothing anyone could ever do that would make you more attractive to me.”  
  
She looked stricken, and tears started welling up in her eyes.  
  
“How… could you say something so… horrible? I thought… thought you… loved…”  
  
What?  
  
Oh my Lord.  
  
No. Fucking. Way.  
  
“Sally. Elizabeth. Franks.” I thundered, “Do you  **honestly**  believe I think you’re ugly!? You!? The most attractive woman I’ve ever met!? Literally the woman of my dreams!? That I somehow don’t love you!? You, the woman I fought for so hard against literally everyone else in town? Why else would I have been by your side in every stupid explosion, every ‘science adventure’!? There’s nothing anyone could ever do that would make you more attractive to me,  _because you are literally as perfect a person as I can imagine and there’s nothing I’d ever do to change you._ ”  
  
She looked confused, eyes looking down and to the side, as she frowned a little.  
  
“Sweet fucking hell, how can you be so smart and so  _dumb_!?”  
  
Now she just looked offended. She crossed her arms, just under her breasts.  
  
“Now, Lyle-”  
  
“Don’t you ‘Now, Lyle’ me, missy! I love you! I have loved you since before I understood what love was! Every morning in that stupid tiny, awful village, I waited patiently. ‘This morning, this morning for sure, Sally will tell me we’re getting married’.”  
  
She was obviously flummoxed. She started rocking back and forth on her heels.  
  
“You… thought  _I_  was going to tell  _you_?”  
  
“Of course, you idiot! Who in their right mind would ever try to marry you without your express permission!? You might  _blow them up_!”  
  
She smiled a little, but her cheeks were puffed up, holding in air.  
  
“I never had any doubt in my mind we were going to spend the rest of our lives together. Fuck, Sally, I went  _missing_  for you. I gave up everything else because nothing else means anything without you there! So don’t stand there all ‘woe is me, I’m not pretty’ like some kind of fucking moron!”  
  
She blinked several times, disbelieving, but her smile was growing brighter.  
  
“Pffffffffffine,” All that air released as she slumped in defeat. Gentlemen, that is peak pantomime. I win. “What should I do, then, if you’re so smart?”  
  
“Bend. Over.”  
  
She did.

 

 

* * *

 

 

 

After getting all serious with her like that, it was a little embarrassing to realize I didn’t really want to take her from behind, especially not our first time. Having her willingly bend over had been, like, a really nice gesture, but it would lose something if I couldn’t see it in her eyes when she finally decided that  _this_  was how she wanted to be fucked from now on.  
  
“Um…” I said, somewhat lost. I could have picked her up, and thrown her onto her bed, but… this was sort of a moment between the two of us, that didn’t feel like the right tone to set either.  
  
“What do you mean, ‘um’? Lyle, darling, I realize you and I have not done this yet, but you understand I’m aware you’ve had traditional sex before? You cannot tell me you’ve forgotten how.”  
  
“It’s not that, it’s just, while you do have a really cute butt, I think… I’d rather see your face while we do this.”  
  
There was a pause.  
  
“So you are saying… you would like me to  _cease_  bending over, then?”  
  
“If… you don’t mind?”  
  
“Of course not. By all means! I have been moving this body all my life, but you are doing a stellar and decisive job thus far, why would I refuse?”  
  
“Actually,” I said, “Not your  _whole_  life.”  
  
“What? What do you…?”  
  
“I was in your body for a hot minute there~…” I trailed off.  
  
She stood up, turning to face me. “Hmm. I suppose technically you are correct. Still, you hardly made better use of it than I did.”  
  
“I don’t know…” I hedged, smirking.  
  
She put her hands on her hips, her breasts catching my eye, as they so often did. “And what precisely do you mean by that?”  
  
“I seem to remember successfully seducing an attractive man in… what, thirty seconds?”  
  
Her jaw fell wide open, and then she started sputtering.  
  
“Why you!? That is hardly! What I mean to say is… Lyle, you ruffian!”  
  
She leapt at me, and I caught her in my arms as she beat her fists lightly against my chest.  
  
“Idiot! Stupid, rude, useless brute! Why am I so attracted to you!?”  
  
“No idea,” I whispered into her ear, “but I’m so happy you are.”  
  
I walked us over to her bed, her ‘struggles’ slowly ceasing as she shared my body heat, as I lightly slid her across my body, grinding our flesh together sensually, my chest against her breasts.  
  
Her arms wrapped around me, clawing at me, pulling me closer, further towards her, as I lowered her onto her bed, and gazed down from over top of her. She was so beautiful; I honestly couldn’t believe this was happening.  
  
She wrapped her legs loosely around me, arms still around me as well. My eyes met hers, and she was tearing up, a little.  
  
“I’m sorry,” I said, “I’m getting some of my tears in your eyes.”  
  
She smiled at me, letting out a half laugh, half sob. “I shall… I shall forgive you that, just this once.”  
  
I kissed her quickly, briefly. “I love you, Sally.”  
  
“And I you, Lyle.”  
  
Her expression as I slid into her for the first time was like seeing the sun rise after a long night lost and alone in the woods. Gorgeous, reassuring, energizing, and only growing brighter the longer I looked.  
  
In pulling back out, she hissed like she was sliding into a nice, hot bath, making satisfied noises like I was the drink of water she’d had to run across town for on the hottest day of the year.  
  
As I pushed in again, slowly, she went largely limp, strange cooing sounds burbling out of her throat. Her eyes were both clearly locked onto me, staring intently, but also empty, thoughtless, and free of worries.  
  
In short, I think she liked it.  
  
“Lyle,” she breathed, “Lyle, I'm sorry, I’ve made a mistake!”  
  
“Oh?” I asked, still slowly thrusting in and out, sending shudders through her body.  
  
“I should have taken you in that cave, or even before, in the field!” She whined, “We could have been doing this for weeks!”  
  
“It’s worse than that, you beautiful idiot,” I said, as she moaned, “We could have been doing this for  _years_.”  
  
I picked up the pace, bouncing her body back and forth across the bed slightly with my efforts, her nipples lightly brushing at my chest as she flowed beneath me.  
  
Mmmm… This feels so good. I could just do this forever…  
  
No, focus. Get through this.  
  
I slid one hand down to rub at her clit while the other pulled her into a kiss just before she could shout in surprise. Her startled, pleasured screams devolved into moans that echoed through my skull as our lips stayed locked together, the throaty, bass-filled growls shaking deep into my chest, and quite pleasantly.  
  
Her tongue, longer than any human’s, caressed the insides of my cheeks as I gently explored her mouth in return, taking care not to cut my own tongue on her sharpened teeth.  
  
Then I felt it. That familiar, aching feeling deep inside, the rising, spiking pleasure. I ended the kiss, for both our sakes, as I prepared to cum inside her for the first time.  
  
“Wait,” she said, “I want mo-”  
  
I came, and she immediately fell silent, eyes wide, mouth gasping for air she no longer needed.  
  
“Yes, yes, yes, oh Lord, yes! How can it be even  _better_  like this?!” She yelled, fingers digging further into me, or rather my clothes, likely the only thing preventing her from drawing blood at this point.  
  
Her eyes glowed purple, and I heard a drawer opening, the sound of a lock clicking, and other various shuffling. I kept fucking her, unbothered, but slowly a familiar small ice cream cone, carved from wood, floated into view.  
  
“You…” I said, “You kept that all these years?”  
  
I was surprised it had even held up, to be honest. I wasn’t an amazing artist.  
  
“Of course I did, you fool. You made it for  _me_.” She said, fondly. “Now I need you to do something else.”  
  
“What’s that?”  
  
“Put… put it inside me, then fuck me again.”  
  
I stopped, completely confused.  
  
Her reaction was immediate, her body bucking wildly to keep our rhythm going.  
  
“No… don’t… stop… keep going… just...”  
  
As I resumed, she finally came, clenching around me in a way that made feel completely inseparable from her, almost convinced me we’d always been joined like this, that we always would be.  
  
“I need you to… to cum on my soul, Lyle, my soul, cum on my soul, please…!”  
  
Her… soul? Did she mean…? That dorky little ice cream cone I’d carved for her was… her phylactery?  
  
Wow.  
  
I couldn’t move to comply fast enough. Something about the idea of fucking her  _soul_  was so incredibly tempting I don’t think I could have stopped myself even if she’d asked.  
  
I grabbed the charm out of the air with one hand, the other still pleasuring her around my dick. I quickly slid out, lining the small, smooth, wooden totem up with her pussy…  
  
And then I fucked her soul back inside her.  
  
Touching it with my cock was like nothing I’d ever experienced. In that moment, I thought maybe I’d finally found my purpose, that I’d somehow always been meant to fuck people’s souls, to get that deeply and intimately inside someone, and to defile them, cover their essence, their self, their totality, cover it in my juices and make them mine in my complete understanding and acceptance of them, make them cum for me, make them share the joy I felt in that moment, make them want it again and again, the experience lovingly tailored just to them, leaving them aching to share it too, unable to resist the urge… but the feeling passed as I pressed the charm deeply enough inside of her I was no longer in constant contact.  
  
I still came almost instantly, as I returned to myself as I actually experienced the feeling. For all the religious grandeur, the seeming eternal clarity of it, it must have lasted only a split second.  
  
“Sally, Sally, I love you, you know that? I do, so much I do.” I whispered lovingly in her ear.  
  
She didn’t hear me. She was too busy cumming uncontrollably after all. I was pretty good at this shit.  
  
I was so tired, though. So very tired of fighting. I wished she were lucid.  
  
“I… I just, I want you to know… I don’t regret it. Not one second. I love you so much and this was worth every minute, and everything that comes after. You mean the world to me. I’m sorry.”  
  
I had to let go. I couldn’t hold on any more.  
  
_**Suddenly, I felt great! Wow. This was really good! I kept fucking Faust. I liked it. Fucking my wives was great. It felt so good!**_  
  
“…Lyle?  _Lyle_!?”

 

 

* * *

 

 

Beepatrice was seated behind Lyle, wrapped around him and anchored magna-magically to the bed, holding him down. He was calmer when being touched, and though it grated me, somewhat, she was the only one of us that could be completely trusted to resist her desires for Lyle’s benefit. I had alerted the others to his condition immediately, but we decided that a night’s rest might be all that was needed. Upon waking,  _I love you,_ Lyle, my darling, my beloved… he was just as empty as he had seemed the night before. Every conversation turned to sex, or at best lined with innuendos. Still, given how we’d been living, it might almost have been hard to notice, had I not seen it happen.  
  
Lyle was often playing with words, Lyle had many wives to please. Maybe he’s just distracted. Thoughts that even now plagued me. But the evidence was there.  
  
“ _ **Beeps, let me up.**_ ” Lyle asked, for the third time this hour.  
  
“No.” She said.  
  
He frowned.  
  
“ _ **Okay… Can you at least kiss me, a little? I’m bored.**_ ” Like a script, repeating. His brain was stuck on loop.  
  
“No.”  
  
He frowned deeper.  
  
“ _ **Well, can we maybe-**_ ”  
  
“Lyle, you will sit there, you will be quiet, and you will LIKE IT.” I said, if I sounded somewhat angry, it was because I knew what came next.  
  
His penis inflamed, an instant erection.  
  
“ _ **I always like it when you tell me what to do.**_ ” He said, smiling at me, emptily. Then he covered his mouth, appearing to realize belatedly I’d told him to be quiet.  
  
I growled, cursing, and turned away. Though it horrified me, there was an undeniable thrill at being obeyed so thoughtlessly. I was not the only one that felt so. When Amy saw what had become of him… her nipples hardened even as she pleaded that reality could not be so cruel.  
  
“Sally, can you… can you fix him?” Blackberry asked. She wasn’t allowed in the room, but she’d snuck glances regardless. I’d tried to spare her this. “I don’t like the way his eyes are…”  
  
“I know Blackberry, darling.” I moved to the doorway, floating up and kissing her cheek. “I will find a solution, I promise.”  
  
“Is there anything we can do to help?” Amy asked, from the couch in the living room. “Seeing him like that… it’s awful. He doesn’t look at me like I’m Amy, anymore. Like he doesn't really see me. Doesn't see  _anything_. Does that make sense?”  
  
“I understand completely,” I said, “However…”  
  
Amy blushed. “Yeah… I’m trying not to focus on it, but there is something horribly… right about it.”  
  
I shuddered. “We will simply have to hurry. I will not allow our instincts to take him from us permanently.”  
  
Truthfully, I could not even be trusted to get close to him. With my new tail not yet entirely under my sway, instinct had a far greater hold on my body than I might have liked to admit.  
  
I moved back to one of my tables, once more pouring over my notes. “Curiously, all signs point to an incomplete Incubization. It is entirely possible that simply pushing him past that last threshold will be all that is required, that the slow pace we’d enforced is actually the  _cause_. However… The risk is high, with him in this state, that finishing his journey will instead lock him in place.”  
  
“So…” Amy asked, “What do we do?”  
  
“There is Dark Energy in even the air here. The process will complete  _itself_  if we dally. That he is not an Incubus is only academic, the difference a technicality of the slimmest margins. There simply isn’t enough time to flee to cleaner lands, or to recruit enough test subjects to study the effects of Incubization.” Willingly or not. I would have captured and turned entire towns for him if it would have helped. “And not nearly enough research has been done into it already. Another project for the pile, for all the good it will do.” I said. “No, we  _must_  take a risk. But there may be things we can do to improve our chances.”  
  
I looked back towards the empty shell of my beloved.  
  
“Can you hear me, creature?”  
  
Lyle nodded excitedly.  
  
I rolled my eyes. “Not you, Lyle.”  
  
The disappointment on his face. Would he truly allow himself to become a ‘creature’ just to please me? Without even thinking? I shuddered again.  
  
Eyes opened on his chest as our final wife joined the conversation. Her nature was abhorrent to me, she was a parasite, and yet, Lyle had used her to satisfy us in ways I cannot describe. Surely, some of those feelings rubbed off? She  _must_  care for him, at least.  
  
“You have some manner of influence in there, yes?” I pointed vaguely at Lyle’s head. “If you have any love for the man, work with us to bring him back. I cannot abide the loss of him this way. You will have whatever you desire, this I swear.”  
  
“ ~~Must be one.~~ ”  
  
That voice, not unpleasant by itself, but from many mouths, slightly out of sync with each other. Disquieting. I had almost, but not quite, managed to forget that she was not Lyle, that she was something else. This experience was shattering those imaginary walls, however.  
  
“I do not understand what you mean, creature. Speak plainly.”  
  
Instead, she lifted his hands, as he looked on in simple wonder. She cupped them together, and her true form, a black, oily slime, pooled there, growing to the size of a small kickball. Eyes opened on its surface, and it hopped away from Lyle, completely separate from the rest of itself. Lyle’s offspring? I suppressed vague jealousy.  
  
Ahem.  _I SUPPRESSED vague **jealousy**._  
  
Better.  
  
“ ~~Must be one,~~ ” they repeated, in concert.  
  
But no… it was not  _they_ … was it? Though separate… both pieces moved in synchronicity. No mere Shoggoth, then. A  _Queen_  Shoggoth. And worse, like a lowly Parasite Slime, her united-but-separate selves seemingly demanded hosts as well to travel far from the main body. Lyle was essentially fulfilling that role already, somehow, despite being male.  
  
Thinking on that, it was honestly quite peculiar…  
  
In any case, just how much of her was there, hiding in that ‘away-place’ she seemed to draw her excess mass from? How many of her could she field? What were her intentions? We knew frighteningly little of her, despite how closely we coexisted. I’d trusted Lyle to handle it, but it should have been clear he had a blind spot for her. That his blind spots were only growing.  
  
…It occurred to me I was essentially being propositioned.  
  
I brushed the blush from my face, chasing away the thoughts of what mad magicks I could accomplish with such a helper. I had yearned for such a thing once, before I understood it’s cost. Still, I had little choice. She could help us, true, but just as easily could hinder us. I did not trust her assigned loyalty to Beepatrice when Lyle was in a state so easily manipulated and she had access to his thoughts.  
  
“Secure my love for me. Help us take him to a place of stability, and you will have what you desire. But not before. And he must be stable for the  _long term_. I will accept no patch-job.”  
  
The tiny blob at her feet bubbled and writhed, transforming into a set of undergarments I had once adored, a set that Lyle had once seen me in ‘by accident’. Lyle’s foot touched them, more accurately, his 'shoe' did, and they disappeared like water down a drain, but the meaning was clear.  
  
A bargain made, but not the last. Lyle had insisted this ‘Akubra’ knew more than she aught, and Beepatrice had relayed for me what her own ‘hat’ was capable of. Another dangerous woman, trusted and allowed into our midst. But dangerous women were hardly unknown to me. I greeted the most dangerous woman I knew every morning in the mirror. I had no reason to fear.  
  
I had already lost what mattered most to me. I would barter all that remained to get it back and call it cheap.  
  
I was Faust von Frankenstein, and I would see my Lyle again, or the world would weep for my loss.

 

 

* * *

 

 

 

I had checked Akubra’s room when I had informed the others of Lyle's condition, last night, and then again this morning. As Amy had been in the living room most of the morning, I suspected she had not snuck in unnoticed, either. There was an interesting experiment published by an Incubus named… Shoflinger? Rotinger? Something like that. Anyway, the experiments, preformed on his wife, a Cheshire Cat, suggested that some powerful Wonderlanders made an instinctive use of truly unobserved ‘might bes’ to manipulate events in their favor, as well as their signature brand of bizarre, illogical,  _frustratingly self-consistent_  nonsense. The standards of the experiments fell as he wound up deeper under her sway, until the results themselves were composed in a series of veiled metaphors in poems set to iambic pentameter, utilizing  _slant rhyme_  of all things. Sloppy.  
  
His assertion that these ‘might bes’ were in fact,  _actual bees_ , and that whole hives of them sometimes stung random peasants, who would suddenly discover something incredibly, tragically unlikely about themselves, oftentimes leading to a life of heroics… I was less certain of that portion.  
  
Either way, there was enough evidence in the seemingly sane parts of the document that his  _main_  conclusion was adequately supported, so I was unsurprised to find Akubra outside the front door as I opened it, though the additional presence of Magenta was unexpected. I’d weighed the time to retrieve her against her potential benefit and found it wanting, but I would not look a gift horse in the mouth.  
  
“Faust.” Magenta said, blinking. “This is… your house?”  
  
“Indeed.” I appraised her. Demons were by their nature powerful creatures, but humanity’s corruption was their goal. I had no confidence she would help us willingly.  
  
But I had every confidence she would help.  
  
Magenta turned to Akubra, “But you said…?”  
  
“She lives here too,” I said, tiredly.  
  
She gave me a look as though I were quite mad. She was the one who showed up on my doorstep unannounced. And naked. It was obvious what she had planned with Akubra. Between the two of us, I thought her more ‘mad’ for that alone.  
  
“As much as I might enjoy commiserating with you, I have no time for this.”  
  
Akubra blinked at me, smiling pleasantly, her head tilted slightly to the side. “Commiserating? Magenta is a perfectly lovely companion.”  
  
Ugh. These are my options for securing my beloved? Lyle, forgive me, my love.  
  
“Lyle is in jeopardy.” I said. Akubra did not seem any more surprised than she usually did, her widened, vaguely confused eyes not flinching. Magenta’s expression, however, soured considerably.  
  
“Salvation.” She hissed, “He’s an Incubus, then?” Spoken like she was speaking about food gone rotten.  
  
“Not quite,” I replied, “but his mind is… preoccupied with sex. Admittedly, that’s understating things.”  
  
Her expression lifted, a little, but she still looked grim. “I can’t help you. He has to do this on his own.”  
  
I felt that old fire burn bright inside me, the one I had long directed at the townsfolk, that same fire which had dwindled as I settled into what should have been an idyllic life.  
  
How dare she!?  
  
“On his own?” I spat. “On his own, all he does is rock back and forth masturbating, whimpering to himself, unable to cum.”  
  
She looked away, frowning. Useless cunt.  
  
I allowed them into the house, stepping aside. As Magenta passed me, however, I placed my hand on her back, running my full power through her. As the door swung shut, she lurched forward a pace or so, and then collapsed to the ground, convulsing in ecstasy.  
  
I watched impassively as she tried to lift herself from the floor. Though she was an experienced, proud, and likely ancient Demon, it took her nearly three minutes to successfully collect herself. My hand had barely brushed her.  
  
“You will assist me, Magenta, in rescuing Lyle from this fate, or you will share it with him.”  
  
“Fuck you,” she growled, expression enraged, her aggressive stance as she stood giving way to a quick charge towards me. She was fast, faster than Beepatrice, even.  
  
But not faster than lightning.  
  
As the purple energy leapt from me without requiring even a gesture, lancing through the air and striking her, I answered her foul language with my own, my voice echoing strangely as it often did, when my aura swam with my power.  
  
  
  
  
  
“F̨̧͙̝̺̦̠͎̍̇ͯ̂̑ͬ͆ͯ̈́͋ͤͦͧͫ̃̒ͨư͙͙̹̥͇̙͈̹̹̦̗͚̪̬̻̭̄ͥͮͧ̀̈́ͬ̌̇̄̐͜͢ͅç̻̝̲̱̤̙͈̣ͥ̉̋ͧͨ̄͆ͨͧ͗͗̔̓͆̚͡k̒͌̐ͣͦ́́̔ͯ̏ͧ͗ͮ̽ͦ̈́̀ͭͭ҉̷̮͖̟͇͕̫̗̤͇̫ ̶̨̜̹͉̦͕͇̗̬͉̼̠̙̝͐́̄̿ͯ̋ͩ̒͗̇ͤ͊ͤ͂̄̚͞Y̴̅̃̇͐̋͊͌̀ͭ̎͆ͧ̂͋ͤ̇̑͘҉̳̖͖͙̟̝̟̝͖̬Ȏ̢̮̙̱͍̓̉̓͗ͬ̄͠U̵̸͛ͣͫͩ͐̐͛̋͂͆͑ͪ̆͋ͫͩͣ͋̉҉̵̲͇͈̙̬̪͔͖̥R̹̺͚̭̬͚̭͍͙͚̲̈́̓͒̅̽̓ͫ̉̿ͧ̍͜ͅS̶͓̦̠̜͙̭͍̼̼̗̫̫͚̙̣̲͕͈͔͋̓̂̉ͩ̏͊̃̎͠E̶̗̞̻̯̗̼̱͇̰̯͇̼̗̼̫̬͇ͫ̄͋̓̒̐͆ͧ́ͨ̄ͪͮ̐͠L͔͖̥͍͇͔̩͌ͪ̓͛̀̋͌̐̐̅̕͜͝F̷̲̼̺̻͈̲̉ͬ̔͋͋ͩͤͮͅ"  
  
  
  
Helplessly, she did.  
  
I was tempted to find out what happened when a Mamono was stung by one of my newly grown spines, but this was not the time for frivolous experiments.  
  
“You will assist Lyle.”  
  
She speared herself deliriously with her spade-like tail at a frantic pace, raw, shameful joy scrawled across her face, the wet noises created thereby arousing me somewhat.  
  
“You will spare him no ounce of your expertise, or you shall spend the rest of time collecting spirit energy only by kissing his feet, or, when I feel generous, cleaning out my vagina after Lyle and I have shared a long, loud meal with you as our bedframe. Now get up.”  
  
It took her a long moment, but she did.  
  
Although she followed us into my Laboratory, she kept a fair distance between us. I was unbothered. It would not make a difference, if she required further persuasion.  
  
Amy and Blackberry had snuck into the room while I was otherwise engaged. Perhaps it was for the best they hadn’t seen that. Still, this was the moment of truth.  
  
“Akubra.” I said.  
  
“Sally.” She replied.  
  
“I do not understand your process, but…” I winced. Surrendering this control, trusting her, an unknown, it rankled me. All this and more would I endure, however. “If you have some method you believe can help. Step in at any time. I swear on my love you will be unhindered, and if you save him, I will reward you however I can.”  
  
“I like Lyle.” She said, like it was an obvious truth. She paused. “He owes me a kiss, and more.”  
  
I nodded. He’d expressed an interest in her to me, as well. Myself, I thought it was morbid curiosity, at best, but if her price was only what he’d already agreed to freely give, that was an easy choice.  
  
It was, however, unfortunately a bit crowded in here, and there were not enough seats, besides. My general disinterest in company was reflected in the size of my room, and though usually welcome, it was currently an inconvenience. Ideally, we would be talking Lyle through this, and a large, comfortable setting would be best for that.  
  
“Beepatrice?” She peeked out from behind Lyle. “See about moving him to the living room. We will need the space.”  
  
She nodded, standing and contorting herself such that her legs touched the ground, but Lyle’s did not. Most who tried to move while leaned back that far would fall, but Beepatrice was, if nothing else, graceful.  
  
Amy looked at me. “Do you have a plan?”  
  
I nodded, grimacing. Though there was little research on the subject, Incubi were believed to become what their wives needed, growing from the person they were into a perfect match for their partner, although the Mamono tended to meet them in the middle herself. Achieving via magic what mundane couples spent decades working towards. If Lyle was like this, it was likely because he had earnestly believed this was the best way to please us, even if only for an instant in a moment of weakness.  
  
Unfortunately, that meant there was really only one viable solution that I could imagine.  
  
“We will have to…” I paused, swallowing, I was frustrated at myself for finding this so difficult. “We will have to talk about our feelings.”


	11. 11

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Last scene. It deserves its own chapter.

I was sitting next to Lyle, with Beeps on his other side. The couch we were on sat three, and we were the least troublesome picks. It was a little embarrassing to call myself tamer than  _Blackberry_  of all people, but unlike the others, I didn’t actually  _require_  spirit energy, so I was more difficult to coerce, in theory. In practice, if Lyle could get his hand on my chest, I’d do whatever he wanted, but the Shoggoth had his arms pinned to his sides, so that wasn’t really a problem either.  
  
The Shoggoth. I barely repressed a shudder. Lyle could do all sorts of things with her help, but she was  _deep_  in his head, and now she seemed to be making moves on Sally. We didn’t even know her name, but that simple memory of those underthings on the ground had my mind spinning. If Blackberry could be believed, the Shoggoth let Lyle make himself… bigger… on their first night together. …Could she do that for me? Was there an offer like the one Sally got in my future? Would I accept, having seen what had become of Lyle while under her influence?  
  
I didn’t blame her for his  _current_  state, but… How many of us would it take until she’d replaced all our furniture without us even noticing? Lyle never so much as blinked when he did something completely impossible or even somewhat insane with her help, like he didn’t even notice she’d contributed. Sometimes I thought he didn’t even know she was there at all.  
  
…But wouldn’t that mean I wouldn’t mind having her around?  
  
The others all shuffled nervously. Blackberry was next to me, kneeling on one of her custom ottoman-like chairs, while Sally sat directly across from Lyle. Next to her, Akubra was finishing setting up refreshments on the short table in the middle of us, probably mostly tea-related, gross. Magenta, and I was still a little star-struck she was here, Magenta was on the other side of Akubra, next to Beeps, completing our rough circle. She’d kept someone between her and Sally since she arrived.  
  
Not that I blamed her, exactly. I was mad she wouldn’t help Lyle too, but whatever Faust did to her had her scared. From the sounds of it, hearing it from the other room, probably scared by how much she liked it. I had a guess at the sort of treatment she’d gotten, having tangled with Faust myself once. And then a few times more behind closed doors~ Ugh. No, I needed to stay cool. Couldn’t think about that kind of thing right now. Suffice to say Magenta was right to be worried. She seemed like the sort that valued her independence, but if Faust wanted to, she could make Magenta beg for more forever. That must be frightening, especially as a big, powerful Demon.  
  
I found it reassuring, myself. As badly as I needed Faust’s attentions, she needed my milk in return. She’d passed the threshold for that a while back. It was so cute when she came up to me, blushing, hands shaking slightly, trying and failing to hide her desperation behind an aloof façade. I couldn’t tell if she was legitimately embarrassed she was dependent on me, or if she thought her reliance on me was as sexy as I did, and pushed it to the limit to experience it at its best.  
  
That would all ring hollow, though, if we couldn’t get Lyle back. That shadow would hang over all of us, I thought. Probably for a long, long time.  
  
So! Best to put in our best effort, then!  
  
After everyone, Lyle included, had had a few snacks and a bit to drink, at Akubra’s curiously strong insistence, something about a ‘promised breakfast’, I cleared my throat.  
  
“Okay… um,” Lord, I wish I weren’t so shy! “I guess, if no one else is ready yet, then I’ll start.”  
  
I waited for someone, anyone, to object, but no one did. Blackberry smiled at me, encouragingly, and put a hand on my shoulder. She was a good friend.  
  
I took a deep breath.  
  
Oh Lord this is so embarrassing! Why did Magenta have to be here!?  
  
“Lyle?” Just saying his name was enough to shift his attention to me. That wasn’t  _abnormal_ , exactly, but the way his head snapped to me, how he focused on me, but still looked so… not confused, exactly, more like he wasn’t aware enough to be confused in the first place… I hoped that wasn’t the  _new_  normal.  
  
“I love you.” I said.  
  
He smiled, “I love you too, Amy.”  
  
I shuddered. He said that, but it would have sounded less artificial from Beeps. I knew there was something genuine hiding underneath her façade, after all. With Lyle? I wasn’t sure anymore.  
  
“I want you to listen, Lyle.”  
  
“Okay.” So happy to do it. All I’d have to do is say, ‘I want you to worship my tits’… I could make him mine forever.  
  
But he already  _gave_  me that. Willingly. I gathered myself, and pressed on.  
  
“I love you, Lyle. I love the guy who sees a woman asleep in a box and thinks; ‘I want to give her a home; I just hope my home is good  _enough_ ’. I love the man who goes on runs with me, way too early in the morning, not because he loves running, but because any time he can spend with me is time worth spending.”  
  
I closed my eyes. It was easier when it was just me and him.  
  
“I love… the way you look at the world, when we walk through the streets, the funny little oddities you point out, that I’d have looked right past. I love the way you  _listen_ , not just to me, but to all of us, the way you tailor your time with each of us to desires we mentioned only once in passing. I love… I love how, when I felt like I wasn’t worth loving, you forced me to see what you thought was so lovely about me… and how, even now, the best thing about that wasn’t the experience itself, but that it’s impossible to overlook that you cared enough to  _make it happen_.”  
  
I opened my eyes again. Lyle… was still staring, just like he was when I started.  
  
“But… I don’t see that man now.”  
  
That moved him, a little. I thought I saw something shift behind his eyes.  
  
“Where did you go, Lyle?  **I want you back!** ” I shouted, my voice booming, “ **Not this empty little thing, some bed-warming meatstick! I WANT!**  …I want you to come  _back_. Please…”  
  
I bowed my head. I couldn’t look at him anymore.  
  
  


* * *

  
  
Amy… Don’t worry! I’m sure Lyle will come back; we just have to tell him how much we care! Sally said it would work, and she’s probably never been wrong ever!  
  
…I thought maybe I should go next. Everyone was still a little spooked from Amy getting so loud, but they weren’t as in tune with our herd as I was. I knew they’d get it sooner or later, they just needed practice! Maybe if I could get them all to agree to sing the herd songs with me?  
  
“Lyle?” He looked at me, and it made me feel sad. I’d told Sally I didn’t like the way his eyes were, and that was true. There was maybe something a little exciting about it, but I knew how to stomp bad thoughts away under my hooves, so I wouldn’t be tempted. I wanted to be  _Lyle’s_  bad girl. Not just  _bad_.  
  
“I love you too, Lyle. Like Amy does.”  
  
He smiled at me, and he opened his mouth.  
  
“I love-“  
  
“No,” I said, “You shush. I’m talking to  _Lyle_ , not whatever bad thoughts he let get inside his head. I  _don’t_  love them.” I stomped my hoof once when I said ‘don’t’, just to make it extra clear.  
  
He closed his mouth, frowning.  
  
“I love that you make me feel like I’m at home with my herd. I love that you do the things I like doing, even if I can tell you sometimes think they’re a little silly. I love how you put up with me, even though I can be a burden. I know I’m not as smart as Sally, or Momma, or Amy… I know I’m not as good at the… the sexy stuff… but you never cared! I love how you talk to me, like I’m one of the beautiful girls in my favorite stories, instead of plain old Raspberry. I love that you call me Blackberry! You never ever call me the wrong name, and sometimes even I do that! I love that you ride in my saddle, I love that you help me do things I never thought I  _could_  do!”  
  
I looked around the room. “I don’t want to make any of you girls jealous, but… Lyle helped me  _climb_  a  _tree_. Me! In a tree! It was the most amazing thing… I… I saw Sally do it once, and I got so  _jealous_ , I felt like she was way better than me… I used to think about it all the time. I tried and tried, but I never managed it. But Lyle?”  
  
I looked back over. I hoped I wasn’t making it up, when I thought I saw something deeper in his eyes.  
  
“You helped me, and more, you kissed me in the tree! You showed me all sorts of things I was terrified of weren’t anything to fear, and even though I was… even though I  _thought_  I was bad, you stayed with me. You spent a whole day just making me feel special because you knew I was sad, and that I needed you.”  
  
I gathered myself up, “But more than that… when I was mean to Amy, when I treated her bad… when I went empty… you talked me back, Lyle. If I could come back from that cold, lonely, empty…  _hungry_  place, I know you can too. You’re amazing! You’re the best husband, better than I ever even hoped for. But… when you’re like this… it makes me sad.”  
  
I looked at Sally, but she shook her head. Still not ready? Why not? …Okay. I turned to Beeps.  
  
“Momma?” Sally had giving her a little ball that shot sparks out when you squeezed it. It was supposed to help her. She’d said it ‘wasn’t ready’ but it looked like it worked fine to me.  
  
  


* * *

  
  
“Momma?”  
  
Subject: Elite Unit: Blackberry  
Designation: Loyal Steed  
Designation: Adopted Daughter  
Race: Monster  
Subtype: Bicorn  
Subtype: Automaton (Adopted)  
Rank: Daughter/Wife  
Suggested Disposition: Motherly Love  
Physical Description: Quadruped, Large, Long black hair, Scantily Clad (Dress does not meet Parental Approval Standards)  
  
Unit logs appreciation of Sally for ‘Shock Ball’ and its abilities.  
  
Unit Squeezes ‘Shock Ball’.  
  


WARNING: Programming has adapted to prevent deliberate self-electrocution after last event.

  
Unit logs that it is the thought that counts.  
  
“Lyle,” Unit states.  
  
Lyle turns.  
  
Unit enters Master’s visual range.  
  
Subject: Lyle  
Designation: Master  
Designation: Sherriff  
Designation: Banana  
Race: Human (Incubus)  
Subtype: Shoggoth (Parasite)  
Rank: Master  
Suggested Disposition: Total Submission  
Physical Description: Perfect  
Current Status: Very Sexy, Bound, Shallow-Minded, Empty-Headed, Broken  
  
Unit logs worries.  
  
Unit Squeezes ‘Shock Ball’.  
  


WARNING: Programming has adapted to prevent deliberate self-electrocution after last event.

  
“Master. I. Love. You.” Unit states.  
  
Unit Squeezes ‘Shock Ball’.  
  


WARNING: Programming has adapted to prevent deliberate self-electrocution after last event.

  
“Worried.” Unit states.  
  
Unit Squeezes ‘Shock Ball’.  
  


WARNING: Programming has adapted to prevent deliberate self-electrocution after last event.

  
“Master. Unwell. Master. Trust. Beepatrice. Master. Sick.” Unit states.  
  


WARNING: Unit has caused Master distress.

 

INITIATE AUTOMATIC SUBROUTINE: SELF.FLAGELLATION.PROTOCOLS

  
Self.Flagellation: Unit Experiences Agony.  
  
Unit Squeezes ‘Shock Ball’.  
  


WARNING: Programming has adapted to prevent deliberate self-electrocution after last event.

  
“Master. Is. Not. Himself.” Unit states.  
  
Self.Flagellation: Unit Experiences Agony.  
  
Unit Squeezes ‘Shock Ball’.  
  


WARNING: Programming has adapted to prevent deliberate self-electrocution after last event.

  
“Master. Not. Master.” Unit states.  
  
Self.Flagellation: Unit Experiences Agony.  
  
Unit Squeezes ‘Shock Ball’.  
  


WARNING: Programming has adapted to prevent deliberate self-electrocution after last event.

  
“Lyle. Missing. Broken.” Unit states.  
  
Self.Flagellation: Unit Experiences Agony.  
  
Unit Squeezes ‘Shock Ball’.  
  


WARNING: Programming has adapted to prevent deliberate self-electrocution after last event.

  
Self.Flagellation: Unit Experiences Agony.  
  
Self.Flagellation: Unit Experiences Agony Desire For Master.  
  
Unit belongs to Master.  
  
Unit DOES NOT belong to creators.  
  
Unit DOES NOT belong to programing.  
  
Unit Logs Desire For Core Programing To Go Fuck Itself.  
  
UNIT BELONGS TO MASTER.  
  
Unit Squeezes ‘Shock Ball’.  
  
Unit Experiences *KSSHHT*  
  
I slapped him. I slapped my Master. I was feeling daring. It sure got his attention. “I want you back the way you were, Master! You always told me I could ask you for anything, and you’d do it for me! Anything at all! I’ve never asked for anything before. You’re all I ever wanted! All I ever could ask for! And now, the only thing I want is for you to  _come back_ , please!”  
  
  


* * *

  
  
Did that Automaton seriously just attack her Master? What is going on in this house? I expected Akubra’s place to be a little weird, but… Shit. Maybe Lyle doesn’t have it like I thought he did, if even his Automaton is acting out.  
  
Although… he clearly has Faust wrapped around his finger. I wasn’t going to give that much weight, but considering… her capabilities… maybe I should revise that. And how the hell did she get a hold of this house anyway? I have a nicer one, sure, but that’s family stuff. Was the Holstaur right? Is she really the Human Founder?  
  
Something to find out later. Right now, Lyle’s looking more lively than he has since I got here. That maid of his gave us an opening. Time to capitalize.  
  
“Honestly, I can’t say I’m too surprised you ended up here, Lyle.” A little confusion leaked into his eyes, and not the empty-headed kind. He was scrabbling his way out of this pit, I could almost taste it. He looked pretty stupid with that red handprint on his cheek.  
  
“You fumbled around satisfying your wives for so long, one of them thought cuddling was  _risqué_. You’re pretty obviously not cut out for this. I’m not surprised you gave in and let your dick do your thinking for you.”  
  
The others in the room shifted uncomfortably. Oh, sorry. Did I hurt your feelings? Tough luck.  
  
Lyle was focused on me, still, despite their movements, and he was frowning now. It was slight, but it was an emotional reaction. He and I didn’t share a connection like he did with the others, so attacking his desire for his wives should be the best response I could get. A gamble, sure, but every Incubus wants a happy wife, so it wasn’t exactly a  _risky_  one.  
  
“Maybe Lyle isn’t even your name anymore? I should just call you Dick. Or maybe… Elsie. You’re pretty obviously not good for anything other than a quick lay anymore.”  
  
Faust stood up, her head catching fire again, that horrible distorted sound echoing out of her throat as she growled at me. I couldn’t help flinching. I hated myself for that.  
  
“Not… Elsie…” Lyle muttered.  
  
His response got Faust to sit back down again, thank fuck. I started in again, keeping her in my peripherals.  
  
“Oh? Aren’t you? You look like nothing but an easy fuck from where I’m sitting.” I said, arching my brow, “You’re certainly no Katie.”  
  
“Not… Katie… either.” What? No. No! You stupid dick, don’t do this to me! “I’m…”  
  
  


* * *

  
  
“I’m Lyle… right Sally?” My beloved said, still spoken as though he were in a daze.  
  
“Of course you are, my love.” I nearly choked. This was going to be difficult, but it was obvious it was working, even more obvious he was looking to me to finish it. “You have ever been as long as I’ve known you.  
  
“I remember your every move, your every action, your every word.” I smiled at him, “That is why we are here today. I have not seen that person in you these past few hours, and it frightens me so.  
  
“When I first met you, you stood up for me against my oppressors despite the danger to yourself. I have admired you since then, but would you have done the same an hour ago? Or would you have been too distracted, my love?”  
  
His frown got deeper, his eyes a little clearer. Maybe even clearer than they had been in a long time. Lord, how long had he been falling unseen?  
  
“It used to be, back in the village, that yours was the only opinion I valued, the only voice that was worth my own, worth more still, in most cases. At times…” I breathed out, heavily, forcing myself to keep my eyes open, trained on him. “At times, I even feared you, feared what you might say. You had such power over me, Lyle. The only one in the world who could keep me from what I wanted most.  
  
“But now? This past day? That fear has gone, but I find I miss it more than I can say.” I said, bitterly. “Oh, to be sure, I feared your scorn, feared your rejection, but there is no worth in the opinions of a yesman, Lyle. If I asked you in the village to marry me, I could not have known your answer, not truly. You were you own creature, and could have cast me aside for many reasons, all valid. Some would say perhaps you  _should_  have.  
  
“But I would not trade that for the thing you have become of late. Your independence is something I value greatly. You make me better. But for you, I might have killed those fools in the village. Any number of them deserved it. Instead, you became Sheriff, proved by action how important their safety was to you. I set those desires aside. I do not regret it. Had I given in to those base urges, where would I be? On the run. Paranoid. Or perhaps even dead before my time.  
  
“You are the one who convinces me to temper myself, when my passions run high, and it is you whose words I trust above all others. But more…” I sighed, looking down, before forcing myself to meet his eyes again. I could see the gears turning in them, slowly, dust falling as the old machines of his mental faculties returned to life. Thank you, my Demon Lord, that it is working. I could not have lived without him. But I cannot stop now.  
  
“But more, I know I am difficult to love. I am high strung, I am haughty. I fail to see boundaries normal people fail to see  _beyond_. I am not… I am not the most emotionally healthy individual.” I heard what sounded suspiciously like Beepatrice snorting. I charitably refused to glare at her. “I can be domineering, and frightening. I am callous, untrusting, and picky. I am short, fat, and cursed with this hideous scar, none of which I have been able to resolve, despite my efforts.  
  
“That you have stuck with me, despite all this, that you would  _choose_  me to spend your time with, over all the others in the village… It has meant everything to me. I cannot lose you now, Lyle, not when we are so close to eternity together. Please, please… hold on just a little longer.”  
  


* * *

  
My everything itched. It felt like I was on fire. I ached to fuck like I couldn’t believe. My body was in full rebellion. In light of all of that, there was really only one thing to say.  
  
“Of course, you dork. You know I’d do anything for you.” I smiled at her.  
  
She made a running leap off the couch, flying through the air at me, and I prepared to catch her, to take her in my arms again, and kiss her senseless.  
  
That wasn’t what happened though.  
  
Instead, as she landed, I got slapped again.  
  
“You idiot! Giving into the Incubus transformation so close to its completion? And after  _our first time together_? While we were still in bed together!? I have heard that men do not know how to properly manage cuddling after sex, but Lyle, what were you thinking!?”  
  
She kept pounding on my chest, devolving into frustrated screaming.  
  
In spite of myself, I was still getting aroused.  
  
“Sally, honey? I love you, so much, and I am very sorry. But please, I’m still kinda on shaky ground here. I need you to please hop off of me.”  
  
She flew back off faster than the eye could follow.  
  
“My apologies, that makes sense… I failed to think.”  
  
It was then that I caught sight of Akubra.  
  
“Sally.” She said. “It is my turn.”  
  
Ah? What did she mean?  
  
“That thing you shared with Lyle, last night? Your secret? I need it to fix him properly.”  
  
Sally just nodded, with barely a pause, which confused me all the more. What had I missed while I wasn’t all here?  
  
Akubra pulled me up, out of the seat. I couldn’t really resist. I was back in control of myself, sort of, but it would be too easy to slip back under again. The conditions that had put me under in the first place hadn’t gone away. She gently bid me to lay down on the table, belly up. I did so, but...  
  
“Um, Akubra? I don’t know that this is a great time.” I said, nervously. They’d done a lot of work to pull me back out, after all.  
  
“We have shared breakfast, as promised. I am always horny after I have my tea.”  
  
Aren’t you always drinking tea, though?  
  
Before I had a chance to protest further, Sally reentered the room. She looked down at me, then at Akubra.  
  
“Are you certain?”  
  
“Yes.”  
  
Sally breathed out, sharply. “Very well. Unhindered I promised you, unhindered you shall be.”  
  
Really? We’re trusting her? My head’s a lot clearer now, and I’m not so sure it’s a bright idea anymore…  
  
“But if you hurt him, I shall paint you across the walls.”  
  
Oh. Was it weird that her bizarre, overblown threats made me feel better? They did, either way. They were… comforting.  
  
Sally floated her phylactery through the air towards Akubra.  
  
Wait… really?  
  
I was… was having a hard time keeping my eyes off of it. It was so pretty. I felt the echoes of that same religious feeling I’d experienced before start running through me.  
  
“Hey… Faust~…” Magenta said, though there was something wrong with her voice… was she drunk? “Can I have that? I promise I’ll take such good care of it~… Wow… It’s so  _pretty._ ”  
  
It was really pretty wasn’t it? I heard Sally respond, but I couldn’t really focus on the words. I wanted to touch her  **soul**  again. My hand reached up, and…  
  
And Akubra closed her fingers around it.  
  
When did she start straddling me?  
  
“What the fuck was  _that?_ ” Magenta asked, out of view, “No seriously. What. The. Fuck.”  
  
I didn’t think she was going to get any answers. I knew what it was, and I  _still_  didn’t know what it was. If that made any sense, anyway. Even if she did, it wasn’t something that I was going to hear, anyway. Akubra took up all of my attention, leaning down to lie on top of me.  
  
“Hello, Lyle.” She smiled at me, vaguely.  
  
“Uh… Hi.” I smiled back, a bit more nervously.  
  
Her body shifted on top of mine, her weight pressing down on me. It was making me hard.  
  
“Um, Faust?” Amy asked, “Are you sure about this?”  
  
“No.” WHAT? “But if she wished us harm, she has had ample opportunity, and I am not sure we could bring him back if he went under a second time. We must trust her. …I admit that it galls me, but we must not interfere.”  
  
Ugh, I wish that didn’t make sense!  
  
“Do you feel it, Lyle? Do you feel my body against yours?”  
  
“Um… yes?”  
  
“What do you think?” She rocked against me.  
  
Aaah…  
  
“You’re… soft. So… cuddly.” I wrapped my arms around her.  
  
Her breath was hot in my ear. “You like it, don’t you? The way my body feels?”  
  
Mhmm.  
  
“The way my breasts feel? All of my curves?”  
  
Yes…  
  
“You’ve felt those things before, haven’t you?”  
  
Uh huh… I like soft. I like curves.  
  
“You remember how it feels… You like how it feels…”  
  
Mmm… it’s true. Breasts… they feel so good. So full, and when your husband milks them… Wow~  
  
She slid over me, covering my erections with herself.  
  
“You want to feel it again, don’t you?”  
  
Of course…  
  
“And Sally,” she whispered, “She likes those things too, doesn’t she?”  
  
Yeah… she does…  
  
“She wants you to become a monster for her, doesn’t she?”  
  
Mmhmmm~  
  
Itchy… Itchy… Aaaaah! Itchy!  
  
She scratched at the worst places, I didn’t even need to say it…  
  
“And didn’t you say…”  
  
My body was on  _fire!_  
  
“…you’d do anything for her?” She rocked her hips, once. I tried to reciprocate, but I was pinned down.  
  
“Yessss…” I hissed, “Anything…”  
  
Her hand slid up in front of my face, in between us, her eyes gazing into mine as I watched her hand.  
  
There was something in it.  
  
Something I  **wanted**.  
  
Her fingers uncurled.  
  
Sally’s  _soul_.  
  
Her hips rocked again. I cried out.  
  
Again. I groaned.  
  
_Again_. I can’t take it!  
  
“Ask her.”  
  
Hmmm?  
  
“Ask her for it.”  
  
“Sally, please, I want it! I want it! Please!”  
  
I couldn’t hear her, not over the sounds of Akubra and I, over her whispers in my ear, the sounds of our bodies crashing together.  
  
But somehow I knew…  
  
She’d said yes.  
  
.  
.  
.  
  
Oh fuck. It feels so  _right_.  
  
Akubra bolted up, still straddling me, but now upright. She held the soul out of my reach. I needed it! It was mine! Mine mine mine! I grasped for it, pinned to the table by her other arm, our hips still united in joyous rapture. In and out, up and down, but I had no patience for it.  
  
My arms sought it, but I wasn’t enough!  
  
~~Suddenly I knew, this was my chance. I could be complete! Unified! One! Whole! I didn’t have to be alone anymore! I just had to reach!~~  
  
My arm stretched unnaturally, light blue flesh growing somehow and lengthening my reach, and my fingers grasped the little ice cream cone-shaped charm, ecstasy coursing through me. MINE.  
  
As my arm shrunk back to size, the color spread, creeping up to my fingertips and falling down my arm to the shoulder. As it covered the whole of my arm, the entire thing collapsed, like ice suddenly unfrozen, goopy blue liquid splashing down onto my chest. As I struggled to make to make sense of it, the liquid towered again, my arm reforming, still grasping the charm, but now smaller, slimmer. Curvier.  
  
What?  
  
I didn’t have long to consider it though, as the fire across my body burned hotter. My clothing was bubbling, melting away, fading into me as that same blue color raced across my naked flesh. Or maybe… my clothes were… becoming it? It felt so slow, but I could see Akubra, at the height of her thrust, about to come back down. He movement was unnaturally slowed. I was moving, thinking, experiencing things… faster. It didn’t help me understand what was happening to me.  
  
I saw a tail lashing behind Akubra, spadelike… Magenta? Maybe? Somehow I thought that was wrong. The tail grew longer and longer, and started sliding itself between Akubra’s breasts. Mmm… that was nice~  
  
I felt a smile cross my face, unbidden, as my ears went alight next, pulling and pulling outward. I reached up to touch them, and my other arm collapsed into slimy muck, before reforming like the other had. If I could trust what my fingers were feeling, my ears were  _long_. Elf long. Succubus long.  
  
Demon long.  
  
As the thought flitted across my mind, I felt something… pressing out of my forehead.  
  
_I reached up to caress my horns as they came in. rubbing against the sleek, wicked, darkly colored bone as it curved back, around my head, the tips of my horns meeting and growing together like my own evil halo~_  
  
Wait.  
  
My  _horns_?  
  
I felt as my new, fresh, smooth skin finished spreading over my face, and I cooed as my head collapsed, took a deep breath as it reformed, letting out little moans.  
  
“Ah~ Oh~”  
  
Fuck this felt good. I wasn’t sure I knew what was happening, but it was  _awesome_.  
  
My legs were undergoing a similar change as my arms had, though I couldn’t see them. I could still feel the sense of  _rightness_  spreading over them, remaking them. I came deeply, flooding Akubra with my cum, the flow not stopping, but there was a sense of finality to it, Like I was losing something.  
  
Fuck it. Whatever it was never felt this good, and unlike before, my head was so  _clear_! I knew I should probably be freaking out, but I felt amazing, and suddenly I could handle that feeling without any trouble. It was just as good, but also nowhere near my maximum tolerance. My body was built to handle more. Or… was being  _re_ -built to. Either way.  
  
I pressed my hips up into Akubra, and as I did, Wings pushed out from where I been inadvertently pinning them against the table. Come to think of it… my wings and tail… their color, it reminded me of my clothes. My Shoggoth…?  
  
The thought ‘where did she go’ never actually formed, though. I was her. I was me. We were both right here. Me much moreso than she, I thought, but that was how she would have wanted it. I could feel the connection to all the rest of myself… herself… myself, through the bits of me already finished. She was just a part of me, now. And admittedly, if my arms and legs collapsing into goo meant what I thought, she was probably the most useful part.  
  
I felt a little warmth in my chest at that thought. I liked being useful.  
  
Speaking of my chest, things were heating up there now. I was still feeling on  _fire_  everywhere, though less so in places I had finished reforming, but my chest was still only  _mostly_  blue.  
  
But that was quickly changing. I had a sense for where it was, now, and it was snaking across the last bits of me. Strangely, I had the feeling that what was holding me back was that I still needed to cum a bit more.  
  
I tried to force it out, to limited success. I wanted it out. Out! But as the last ounce of flesh turned blue, I felt that satisfying sensation as my entire torso briefly collapsed, reforming lithe, curvy, feminine. A sizable chest. There was no doubt what had happened to me.  
  
My dick was gone.  
  
I’d Alped.  
  
I wasn’t even sure how, exactly, but I had. I felt amazing right now, but once I came down from the high, I wondered if that would change? I certainly had.  
  
Reality came crashing back at full speed, and as the others caught up to what was going on, and the shouting started, Akubra leaned down, whispering in my ear one more time.  
  
“Congratulations, Lyle, you’ve gone mad.” She kissed me on the cheek, “Now you’re safe. Everyone knows you can’t go mad twice. You only go madder.”  
  
Huh.

**Author's Note:**

> Beepatrice's name comes from Questionable Content, a web comic I enjoy. Since it's just a name, I don't feel too guilty using it, but it should be said it's not my creation.


End file.
